THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Dog  Dancer  of  the  Plains 
Maximilian,  1843.  I 


THE 

AMERICAN  INDIAN 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANTHROPOLOGY 
OF  THE  NEW  WORLD 

BY 

CLARK  WISSLER 

CURATOR  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY  IN  THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


SECOND  EDITION 


NEW  YORK 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

AMERICAN  BRANCH:  35  West  32nd  Street 
LONDON.  TORONTO.  MELBOURNE  AND  BOMBAY 

1922 


Copyright , 1917t 
By  Douglas  C.  McMurtrie 

Copyright , 1922 1 
by  Oxford  University  Press 
American  Branch 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 


This  second  edition  of  The  American  Indian  is  not  merely 
a new  book  in  the  mechanical  sense,  for  its  reprinting  gave 
opportunity  for  such  revisions  and  additions  as  the  progress 
of  anthropological  research  and  explorations  seemed  to  re- 
quire. Thus,  the  chapter  on  chronology  has  been  lengthened, 
for  it  is  in  the  determination  of  time  sequences  for  culture 
data  that  the  most  distinctive  progress  is  now  being  made. 
Everyone  familiar  with  the  situation  must  feel  that  we  are 
upon  the  threshold  of  epoch-making  discoveries  in  the  New 
World,  particularly  in  Mexico  and  other  parts  of  the  area 
of  higher  cultures,  for  with  the  stratigraphic  and  analytic 
techniques  now  available,  man’s  antiquity  here  and  his  sub- 
sequent relative  chronology  cannot  for  long  remain  a mys- 
tery. So,  the  time  index  to  New  World  aboriginal  civiliza- 
tion may  soon  be  revealed,  and  with  this  new  insight  will 
come  ready  answers  to  many  of  the  perplexing  questions 
raised  in  these  pages. 

Again,  additional  space  has  been  given  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  distribution  in  terms  of  time  sequence,  which,  now 
that  we  are  in  a position  to  command  the  facts,  promises  to 
be  the  next  new  lead  in  anthropological  research.  While  it 
may  be  true  that  geographical  distribution  alone  is  not  an 
unfailing  index  of  time  relations,  it  often  does  furnish  us 
the  key  to  the  situation.  Anyone  doubting  the  resources 
of  this  method  should  consult  the  recent  works  of  Norden- 
skiold. 

Though  interest  in  chronological  problems  has  focused 
attention  upon  culture  data,  the  biological  problems  peculiar 
to  the  Indian  as  a race  have  not  been  neglected.  While  no 
new  leads  have  developed,  some  gains  have  been  made,  the 
advances  resulting  from  the  comparative  study  of  the  teeth 
and  from  the  detailed  geographical  distribution  of  anatomi- 
cal characters.  Discussions  of  these  topics  will  be  found 
under  the  appropriate  heads. 


VI 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Aside  from  these  major  revisions,  note  has  been  taken 
of  many  special  local  advances  in  knowledge  and  of  a few 
noteworthy  comparative  studies,  all  of  which  it  is  hoped 
will  increase  the  value  of  this  resume  of  the  American 
Indian  and  his  culture. 


January , 1922. 


Clark  Wissler. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 


This  book  is  offered  as  a general  summary  of  anthropo- 
logical research  in  the  New  World.  It  is  in  the  main  a by- 
product of  the  author’s  activities  as  a museum  curator  in 
which  capacity  he  has  sought  to  objectify  and  systematize 
the  essential  facts  relating  to  aboriginal  America.  Thus,  he 
is  first  of  all  indebted  to  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  for  the  opportunities  and  resources  necessary  to 
the  development  of  the  subject  and  for  permission  to  use 
the  experience  so  gained  in  the  composition  of  these  pages. 

Of  personal  obligations  there  are  many.  All  of  my 
associates  in  the  Museum  have  been  most  helpful : particu- 
larly, acknowledgment  should  be  made  to  Doctor  Robert  H. 
Lowie  who  read  the  manuscript  and  offered  many  sugges- 
tions as  to  the  scope  and  form  of  the  work.  In  addition, 
recognition  should  be  given  Professor  A.  L.  Kroeber,  Uni- 
versity of  California,  for  valuable  criticisms;  to  Mr.  Leslie 
Spier  for  data  on  the  archaeology  of  eastern  North  America, 
and  to  Mr.  Andrew  T.  Wylie,  Teachers’  College,  for  sug- 
gestions as  to  the  form  of  presentation.  Finally,  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  acknowledge  my  obligation  to  Professor  Henry 
Fairfield  Osborn,  President  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  for  inspiration  and  encouragement  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  the  work. 

The  technical  preparation  of  these  pages  was  undertaken 
by  my  secretary,  Miss  Bella  Weitzner,  who  compiled  the 
tables  of  linguistic  stocks,  the  bibliography,  and  the  index, 
and  whose  long  experience,  coupled  with  extensive  anthro- 
pological knowledge,  greatly  facilitated  all  phases  of  the 
work.  The  specimens  illustrated  are  from  the  Museum  col- 
lections. The  maps,  diagrams,  and  many  of  the  drawings 
were  executed  by  Mr.  S.  Ichikawa,  who  also  rendered  indis- 
pensable assistance  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  the 
illustrations. 

Clark  Wissler. 

June,  1917.  vii 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Preface  to  the  Second  Edition  ........  v 

Preface  to  the  First  Edition  . . . . . ...  . vii 

Introduction xvii 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Food  Areas  of  the  New  World i 

Hunting  Areas 3 

The  Salmon  Area 9 

The  Area  of  Wild  Seeds 11 

The  Agricultural  Areas 12 

General  Discussion 19 

Distribution  of  Narcotics 25 

CHAPTER  II 

Domestication  of  Animals  and  Methods  of  Transportation  . . 28 

Canoes  and  Navigation 38 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Textile  Arts 42 

Spinning 44 

Netting 47 

Basketry ...  48 

Cloth 53 

Feather- work 59 

Clothing 60 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Ceramic  Arts 66 

Processes  of  Manufacture 68 

Pottery  Forms 72 

Pottery  Decoration 74 

CHAPTER  V 

Decorative  Designs 76 

Textile  Designs 77 

Distribution  of  Designs 80 

Symbolism 97 

m 


x THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

CHAPTER  VI 

Page 

Architecture 102 

CHAPTER  VII 

Work  in  Stone  and  Metals 119 

Types  of  Artifacts 122 

Mines  and  Quarries 128 

Metal  Work 129 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Special  Inventions 132 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  Fine  Arts 140 

Literature 143 

Music 152 

CHAPTER  X 

Social  Grouping 156 

The  Local  Group  160 

Clans  and  Gentes 162 

Dual  Divisions 166 

Relationship  Systems 168 

Taboos  and  Social  Privileges 169 

Age  Grades  and  Societies 171 

Totemic  Features 172 

CHAPTER  XI 

Social  Regulation 175 

Conceptions  of  Property  and  Inheritance 183 

Marriage  Regulations 185 

Education  and  General  Discipline  . . . . . t . 187 

CHAPTER  XII 

Ritualistic  Observances 191 

Supernatural  Guardians  and  Totemism 197 

Shamanism 199 

The  Personal  Relation  in  Ritualism 204 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Mythology 206 

Mythology  and  Religious  Conceptions 211 

Unity  of  New  World  Culture 215 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Page 

The  Classification  of  Social  Groups  according  to  their  Cultures  . 217 

The  Historic  Tribes  < 218 

North  American  Culture  Areas 218 

1.  The  Plains  Area 218 

2.  Plateau  Area 222 

3.  California  Area 225 

4.  North  Pacific  Coast  Area 227 

5.  Eskimo  Area 229 

6.  Mackenzie  Area 231 

7.  Eastern  Woodland  Area 234 

8.  Southeastern  Area 237 

9.  Southwestern  Area 239 

10.  The  Nahua  Area 242 

South  American  Culture  Areas 245 

11.  The  Chibcha  Area 245 

12.  The  Inca  Area 247 

13.  The  Guanaco  Area 249 

14.  The  Amazon  Area 251 

15.  The  Antilles 257 

Culture  Centers 257 

CHAPTER  XV 

Archaeological  Classification 261 

North  America 261 

1.  The  North  Atlantic  Area 261 

2.  South  Atlantic  Area 265 

3.  The  Iroquoian  Area 266 

4.  The  Mississippi-Ohio  Area 268 

5.  The  Great  Lake  Area 270 

6.  The  Plains 271 

7.  The  Pueblo  Area 272 

8.  California 274 

9.  The  Columbia  Basin 276 

10.  North  Pacific  Coast  Area 277 

11.  The  Arctic  Area 277 

12.  The  Canadian  Area 277 

13.  Northern  Mexico 277 

14.  Central  Mexico 278 

15.  State  of  Oaxaca 278 

16.  Yucatan 278 

17.  Panama 279 

18.  The  Antilles 279 

South  America « • . . .281 

19.  Colombia « » . . u • 281 


xii  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

Page 

20.  Ecuador 282 

21.  Peru 283 

22.  Chile  . 283 

23.  The  Atlantic  Highlands 284 

24.  Patagonia 285 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Chronology  of  Cultures 287 

Chronologies  determined  by  Stratification 291 

Inapplicability  of  Old  World  Chronology 294 

Inferential  Chronologies 296 

Summary 300 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Linguistic  Classification 304 

Comparative  Phonetics 31 1 

Comparative  Morphology 315 

Distribution  of  Stocks 319 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

Somatic  Classification 324 

Breadth  of  Face 326 

Flattening  of  the  Femur 327 

The  Teeth 327 

Head  Form 329 

Orbits  and  Nasal  Skeleton 336 

Bodily  Proportions 338 

Summary  of  Somatic  Characters 338 

Relations  to  Mankind  in  General 340 

Grouping  by  Somatic  Characters 350 

Chronological  Types 354 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Correlation  of  Classifications 359 

Linguistics  and  Culture 364 

Somatic  Correlations 366 

General  Relations  of  Culture,  Linguistics,  and  Somatology  . 366 

The  Migration  Factor 367 

The  Influence  of  Environment 370 

CHAPTER  XX 

Theories  of  Culture  Origin 375 

Culture  Trait  Association 384 

The  Historical  Conception  of  Culture 386 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXI 

Page 

New  World  Origins 389 

APPENDIX 

Linguistic  Tables  and  Bibliography 401 

Linguistic  Stocks  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  . . . 403 

Linguistic  Stocks  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  . . . 412 

Linguistic  Stocks  of  South  America 415 

Bibliography 423 

Index 451 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Dog  Dancer  of  the  Plains Frontispiece 

1.  Food  Areas  of  the  New  World 2 

2.  The  Distribution  of  the  Caribou  and  the  Musk-Ox  . . 4 

3.  The  Distribution  of  Maize  and  Manioc 20 

4.  Pueblo  Indian  Planting  Maize 22 

5.  Cultivating  Maize  and  Squashes  . 22 

6.  Distribution  of  Coca  and  Tobacco 26 

7.  Distribution  of  Animal  Transport 29 

8.  Eskimo  Dog  Sledge 33 

9.  Indians  of  the  Bison  Area  on  the  March  ...  33 

10.  Various  Methods  of  Using  the  Tumpline  ....  37 

11.  Types  of  Canoes 39 

12.  Ancient  Mexican  and  Egyptian  Spinners  ....  46 

13.  Basketry  Weaves 49 

14.  Distribution  of  Types  of  Basketry 51 

15.  Ojibway  Weaving  Frame 54 

16.  A Navajo  Weaver 54 

17.  Distribution  of  Weaving 56 

18.  Cape  of  Sagebrush  Bark 58 

19.  Types  of  Costume  and  their  Distribution 61 

20.  Forms  of  Footwear 63 

21.  A Pueblo  Indian  Potter 67 

22.  Distribution  of  Pottery 67 

23.  Lower  Mississippi  Pottery 69 

24.  South  Atlantic  Pottery  . 70 

25.  North  Atlantic  Pottery  70 

26.  Pottery  from  Southwestern  United  States  ....  71 

27.  Mexican  Pottery 72 

28.  Central  American  Pottery 72 

29.  Peruvian  Pottery 73 

30.  Pottery  from  Eastern  South  America 74 

31.  Types  of  Textile  Design 78 


xiv  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

Page 

32.  Types  of  Prehistoric  Peruvian  Textile  Designs  ...  79 

33.  Decorative  Design  Areas 81 

34.  Beaded  and  Painted  Designs 83 

35.  The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Plains  Indians 85 

36.  Design  Elements 85 

37.  Decorations  on  Birchbark 88 

38.  Prehistoric  Textile  Designs,  Maya 91 

39.  Mexican  Textile  Designs 92 

40.  A Series  of  Peruvian  Designs 94 

41.  A Series  of  Designs  and  their  Names 98 

42.  True  Symbols 100 

43.  Cross-Section  of  the  Temple  of  the  Cross  ....  103 

44.  Groundplan  of  the  House  of  the  Nuns 104 

45.  Elevations  and  Groundplans,  Yucatan 105 

46.  Section  of  the  Hall  of  the  Six  Columns,  Mexico  . . .107 

47.  Pebbles  Showing  the  Process  of  Abrading  . . . .120 

48.  Pieces  of  Worked  Nephrite 121 

49.  Common  Types  of  Arrow-Head 123 

50.  Knives  of  Copper  from  the  Eskimo  and  Inca  ....  126 

51.  Methods  of  Drilling 133 

52.  Wooden  Slat  Armor 137 

53.  Two  Figures  from  Palenque  ........  141 

54.  Statues  of  the  Chacmool  Type 142 

55.  A Sculptured  Turtle  at  Quirigua 143 

56.  Distribution  of  Sculpture 145 

57.  Distribution  of  Clans  and  Gentes  . 164 

58.  Culture  Areas 219 

59.  The  Plains  Indian  Culture  Area  221 

60.  Distribution  of  Forests  in  South  America  ....  253 

61.  Archaeological  Areas 262 

62.  Types  of  Stone  Implements,  North  Atlantic  Area  . . . 263 

63.  Iroquois  Archaeological  Types 267 

64.  Ancient  Maya  Cities 280 

65.  Linguistic  Stocks  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  . . 306 

66.  Linguistic  Stocks  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  . . . 308 

67.  Linguistic  Stocks  in  South  America 312 

68.  Consolidation  of  California  Stocks 3T8 

69.  North  American  Types 325 

70.  Brazilian  Types 325 

71.  Patagonian  Types 325 

72.  The  Cephalic  Index 33° 

73.  Diagrammatic  Representation  of  Average  Bodily  Forms  . 340 

74.  Bodily  Forms  from  Various  Races  ......  341 

75.  Lines  of  Dispersion  for  the  Primates 345 

76.  Living  and  Extinct  Groups  of  Primates 345 


CONTENTS 


xv 

Page 

77.  Dispersion  of  Mankind 348 

78.  Somatic  Areas 355 

79.  Superposition  of  Culture  Areas 363 

80.  Distribution  of  Men’s  Societies  among  the  Plains  Indians  . 383 

81.  North  American  Indian  Tribes 474 

82.  South  American  Indian  Tribes 474 


INTRODUCTION 


The  term  anthropology  now  stands  for  the  specific  sci- 
ence of  man.  Ethnology,  archaeology,  and  somatology  are 
merely  divisions,  or  convenient  groups  of  problems  within 
the  scope  of  this  science.  The  ideal  of  anthropology  is  to 
coordinate  all  the  data  concerning  man's  culture,  language 
and  anatomy,  past  and  present,  with  a view  to  solving  the 
problems  of  his  origin  and  the  interpretation  of  his  culture. 
To  this  end,  it  must  employ  the  methods  of  history,  zoology, 
psychology,  geology,  and  the  exact  sciences,  as  the  case 
may  require.  Its  pursuit  will  prove  no  light  task,  but  to 
him  who  has  a grasp  of  some  of  these  subjects  and  a work- 
ing insight  into  the  others,  anthropology  offers  problems  of 
the  most  enticing  sort.  Naturally,  but  few  of  us  can  hope 
to  grapple  first-hand  with  these  great  inquiries,  but  the  an- 
thropology of  today  has  moved  forward  so  far  that  no  man 
who  wishes  to  be  considered  well  educated  can  afford  to 
ignore  its  fundamentals  any  more  than  he  can  those  of 
zoology  or  sociology. 

This  book,  however,  is  not  designed  to  serve  as  an  intro- 
duction to  anthropology  in  general.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
deals  with  one  of  the  two  grand  world  divisions  under  which 
the  subject  matter  of  anthropology  is  comprehended,  for  as 
we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  this  discussion,  the  native  cul- 
ture of  the  American  Indian  stands  out  in  sharp  contrast  to 
the  culture  of  the  Old  World.  This  contrast  is  due  to  fun- 
damental differences  in  the  specific  cultures  of  the  two  hemi- 
spheres, which  differences  naturally  tend  to  form  two  groups 
of  problems.  Yet,  the  problems  that  arise  in  the  anthropol- 
ogy of  the  New  World  have  a great  deal  in  common  with 
those  pertaining  to  the  Old.  The  functions  of  culture  seem 

xvii 


xviii  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

to  be  the  same  in  each;  hence,  a review  of  the  New  World, 
such  as  we  are  now  to  take  up,  will  at  the  same  time  intro- 
duce us  to  the  methods  and  viewpoints  of  anthropology  in 
general. 

Yet,  aside  from  these  academic  considerations,  the  Amer- 
ican Indian  makes  an  appeal  to  popular  interest.  The  name 
occupies  so  large  a place  in  our  own  culture  that  it  may  be 
doubted  if  there  is  anywhere  in  all  the  land  a normal  indi- 
vidual who  has  not  acquired  some  interest  in  the  Indian's 
history.  On  every  hand  we  hear:  How  came  the  Indian 
here?  Who  were  his  ancestors?  What  knowledge  and 
habits  did  he  bring  with  him?  What  has  he  accomplished 
of  his  own  initiative  and  how  did  he  achieve  it?  And  it  is 
right  and  proper  that  every  one  of  us  should  be  interested 
in  these  questions,  because  we  have  not  only  displaced  the 
Indian  in  this  land  but  we  have  absorbed  a great  deal  of  his 
culture.  For  instance,  what  a void  we  should  create  if,  by 
some  magical  power,  we  could  strike  from  our  history,  geog- 
raphy and  literature  all  that  pertains  to  his  race!  Again, 
what  havoc  would  be  wrought  by  his  withdrawal  from 
painting,  sculpture,  and  decorative  art!  But  these  losses, 
incalculably  great  as  they  are,  would  be  lost  in  the  over- 
whelming economic  vacuity  that  would  result  from  the  ob- 
literation of  maize,  cacao,  manioc,  the  potato,  the  squash, 
coca,  quinine,  tobacco  and  all  the  other  numerous  and  name- 
less contributions  the  Indian  has  made  to  our  culture.  From 
that  eventful  day  in  1492  when  Columbus  first  laid  eyes 
upon  the  Indian,  down  to  this  very  hour,  he  has  been  the 
most  studied  of  peoples.  No  other  race  of  the  world  can  so 
stir  the  imagination  of  the  European.  It  is  thus  plain  that 
we  have  before  us  one  of  our  greatest  cultural  assets,  the 
source  of  the  most  original  traits  of  our  present-day  culture 
and  a heritage  upon  which  we  may  realize  more  and  more. 
It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  systematize  and  extend  our 
knowledge  of  this  vanishing  race  whose  life  has  been  tram- 


INTRODUCTION 


xix 


pled  under  foot  in  the  ruthless  march  of  culture’s  evolu- 
tion, but  whose  own  cultural  achievements  were  too  virile 
and  too  finely  adjusted  to  local  geographical  conditions  to 
be  obliterated. 

Further,  the  chief  concern  of  scientific  anthropology  is  to 
solve  the  very  questions  of  origin  that  actuate  the  popular 
mind.  As  applied  to  the  New  World,  the  sole  objective  of 
anthropology  is  to  discover  the  origin  and  conditions  which 
have  produced  the  Indian  and  his  culture.  Such  questions 
of  origin  look  simple  and  innocent  enough  but,  my  dear 
Reader,  here  are  problems  whose  final  solution  shall  surely 
put  the  intellect  of  man  and  his  scientific  methods  to  a su- 
preme test.  Positive  and  complete  answers  can  not  now  be 
given  to  any  of  these  questions,  yet  anthropology  has  some- 
thing definite  to  offer  on  every  point,  though  so  far,  this  in- 
formation lies  hidden  from  the  uninitiated  reader  in  the  ac- 
cumulated mass  of  published  data  and  special  literature  for 
the  reason  that  no  formal  attempt  has  as  yet  been  made  to 
summarize  or  to  present  a general  review  of  New  World  an- 
thropology as  a whole.  It  is  to  make  up  in  some  measure 
for  this  deficiency  that  the  following  handbook  of  the  sub- 
ject is  projected. 

At  the  outset,  we  shall  introduce  the  reader  to  what  ap- 
pear to  be  the  most  important  facts  in  the  culture  of  the 
native  peoples.  Such  facts  are  conveniently  comprehended 
under  three  main  headings:  Material  Traits  of  Culture 
(Chapters  I to  VIII),  the  Fine  Arts  (Chapter  IX),  and 
Social  Traits  (Chapters  X to  XIII).  The  thirteen  chapters 
devoted  to  these  topics  are  offered  as  a review  of  the  data 
necessary  to  a more  searching  and  constructive  view  of  our 
subject.  Turning  from  this  descriptive  task,  we  shall  first 
consider  the  classifications  under  which  all  these  data  may 
be  assembled.  The  historical  development  of  anthropology 
as  a whole,  commits  ns  to  a historical  and  geographical  point 
of  view,  consequently  the  basic  principle  of  classification  in 


XX 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


every  case  will  be  geographical  distribution.  Hence,  we 
take  up  in  turn  the  problems  of  the  grouping  of  the  living 
tribes  according  to  culture;  the  evidences  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  extinct  tribes,  if  such  there  be;  the  distribution 
of  languages ; and  finally,  the  problem  of  somatic  types.  The 
completion  of  this  task  should  leave  us  with  a systematic 
view  of  the  New  World  as  a whole. 

We  may,  then,  profitably  consider  such  synthetic  prob- 
lems as  suggest  themselves.  Among  these,  by  far  the  most 
popular,  are  those  dealing  with  the  origins  of  New  World 
peoples  and  their  culture,  their  relation  to  the  races  of  the 
Old  World,  and  the  antiquity  of  their  arrival  in  the  New. 
These  subjects  have  been  many  times  discussed,  but  they 
are  here  considered  as  interpretations  based  upon  empirical 
classifications  of  scientific  data. 

As  we  proceed,  the  reader  will  become  conscious  of  a cer- 
tain asymmetry  in  the  descriptive  chapters,  but  this  is  un- 
avoidable, for  it  so  happens  that  we  have  much  more  com- 
plete data  for  the  United  States  and  Canada  than  for  other 
parts  of  the  New  World.  For  South  America,  in  particu- 
lar, the  data  are  quite  unsatisfactory.  Consequently,  most 
of  the  illustrative  examples  and  the  inductive  interpretations 
in  this  book  are  drawn  from  the  best  known  parts  of  North 
America.  On  the  other  hand,  the  data  at  large  are  suffi- 
cient to  reveal  the  main  characteristics  of  the  whole  New 
World  and  to  make  clear  the  fundamental  unity  that  exists 
throughout.  In  addition,  the  limitations  of  space  have  ne- 
cessitated passing  over  many  topics  in  silence.  For  example, 
we  have  omitted  all  discussions  of  warfare  and  fighting  cus- 
toms, chiefly  because  these  are  the  most  familiar  to  general 
readers.  Moreover,  these  subjects  are  rather  fully  treated 
in  historical  books  and  tales  of  adventure,  but  the  reader 
who  wishes  to  go  deeper  into  the  problem  may,  with  profit, 
consult  the  writings  of  Bandelier  and  Friederici.  Another 
very  important  point  that  might  be  considered  is  the  density 


INTRODUCTION 


xxi 


of  native  populations  in  pre-Columbian  times,  a subject  we 
should  have  gladly  made  room  for  if  there  were  available 
reliable  estimates.  Recently  this  problem  has  been  taken  up 
by  Mr.  James  Mooney,  who  is  now  preparing  a publication 
on  the  subject.  However,  when  we  take  into  account  the 
modes  of  life  followed  in  the  different  areas,  it  appears  a 
fair  assumption  that  in  1492  the  native  population  was  about 
at  its  maximum;  that  is,  the  hunting  areas  contained  as 
many  people  as  the  fauna  would  support  and  the  agricul- 
tural areas  about  all  that  could  be  provided  for  under  the 
existing  systems.  Yet,  this  may  prove  an  error  when  more 
data  are  available.  Again,  the  choice  of  topics  has  been 
governed  by  the  importance  of  the  problems  involved.  Thus 
so  far,  no  very  important  problems  have  been  found  in  war 
customs,  population,  etc.,  but  in  forms  of  social  organization, 
certain  industries,  art,  etc.,  we  do  find  problems  that  bear 
upon  the  very  fundamentals  of  anthropology.  In  the  prep- 
aration of  this  volume  our  ideal  has  been  to  treat  these  fun- 
damental problems  rather  than  to  present  a digest  of  all  pos- 
sible phases  of  New  World  native  life. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  FOOD  AREAS  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  most  tangible  and  objective  of  human  traits  are 
those  having  to  do  with  food.  It  is  obvious  that  the  funda- 
mental necessity  for  man’s  existence  is  a sufficient  quantity 
of  some  kind  of  edible  organic  substance.  Moreover,  a 
retrospect  of  the  world,  as  we  find  it  today,  suggests  that 
one  of  the  eternal  problems  confronting  the  several  groups 
of  mankind  has  been  the  discovery  of  practical  methods  for 
adapting  living  forms  to  dietary  requirements.  For  this 
reason,  if  for  no  other,  it  seems  advisable  to  begin  our  study 
of  man  in  the  New  World  with  a general  discussion  of  food 
complexes. 

The  almost  universal  tendency  among  the  several  groups 
of  mankind  is  to  specialize  in  some  one  kind  of  food  which 
thereby  becomes  the  staple,  or  main  support,  to  be  supple- 
mented by  secondary  foods  when  opportunity  permits. 
Even  our  own  very  complex  culture  has  not  fully  overcome 
this  disposition,  as  shown  in  our  great  dependence  upon 
bread  and  beef.  Another  characteristic  is  that  this  special- 
ization is  uniformly  distributed  over  a considerable  area. 
Because  of  these  two  conditions  our  task  of  classification  is 
far  less  difficult  than  if  it  were  otherwise. 

Guided  by  these  considerations  the  New  World  may  be 
comprehended  under  eight  large  food  areas,  the  general 
boundaries  of  which  are  indicated  on  the  map.  Thus,  be- 
ginning with  North  America,  we  have  in  the  north  a large 
extent  of  territory  presenting  Arctic  and  sub-Arc.tic  charac- 
teristics. This  region  is  the  natural  range  of  the  caribou, 
or  American  reindeer,  whose  flesh  was  the  main  support  of 


2 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


HUNTING  AREAS 


3 


the  aboriginal  populations.  On  the  Pacific  slope,  centering 
in  the  drainage  of  the  Columbia  River,  we  have  the  salmon 
area.  To  the  south,  in  California  and  a portion  of  the  in- 
terior, is  the  area  of  wild  nuts  and  seeds.  In  the  heart  of 
the  continent  is  the  bison  area.  Eastern  United  States  is 
embraced  in  the  eastern  maize  area.  Beginning  at  the  Col- 
orado River  and  extending  down  through  the  Isthmus  and 
the  Andean  regions  to  the  lower  part  of  Chile,  is  the  area 
of  intensive  agriculture  in  which  maize  is  also  the  leading 
food.  The  interior  of  the  southern  continent,  centering 
around  the  Amazon  drainage,  is,  in  the  main,  a dense  trop- 
ical forest  about  whose  native  inhabitants  we  have  the  least 
knowledge  of  any.  In  fact,  we  cannot  certainly  character- 
ize the  food  of  the  whole  area,  but  inferring  the  whole  from 
the  known  parts,  we  should  say  that  small  game  and  culti- 
vated manioc  are  the  important  foods.  Finally,  the  lower 
part  of  the  continent  has  certain  similarities  to  the  North 
American  caribou  area,  the  chief  food  animal  being  the 
guanaco. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  eight  areas  can  be  grouped : 
three  of  them  being  the  homes  of  hunting  peoples,  three  of 
agriculturists,  one  of  fishers,  and  one  of  gatherers  of  wild 
seeds. 

HUNTING  AREAS 

In  the  caribou  area  live  two  groups  of  tribes  generally 
recognized  as  having  little  in  common,  the  Eskimo  and  the 
Canadian  Indians.  As  we  shall  see  later,  this  view  as  to 
their  diversity  is  in  a large  measure  justifiable,  but  with 
respect  to  food  they  have  close  similarities.  It  is  customary 
to  characterize  the  Eskimo  as  a people  living  upon  sea  mam- 
mals, particularly  the  seal;  but  we  must  not  overlook  the 
fact  that  their  winter  clothing  is  of  caribou  skin  and  that 
the  flesh  of  that  animal  is  an  important  part  of  their  diet. 
However,  the  severe  winters  of  their  extreme  northern 


4 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig. 


HUNTING  AREAS 


5 


range  drive  the  caribou  southward  and  leave  the  seal  the 
only  recourse  during  the  period  of  prolonged  darkness.  Yet 
whenever  the  caribou  are  in  reach  the  Eskimo  places  his 
chief  dependence  upon  them.  Thus,  while  our  classification 
should  not  be  permitted  to  obscure  the  large  part  that  sea 
mammals  play  in  the  domestic  economy  of  the  Eskimo,  the 
caribou  is  absolutely  indispensable  to  his  existence,  not  so 
much  for  food  as  for  winter  clothing.  Hence,  we  see  that 
Eskimo  culture  must  be  considered  as  a modified  form  of 
caribou  culture. 

The  Indians  of  this  area,  chiefly  the  Dene  and  Northern 
Algonquin  tribes,  are  an  inland  people  occupying  the  sub- 
Arctic  tundra  and  the  sparse  forest  belt  below  it,  which 
gradually  shades  off  into  the  denser  forests  of  southern  Can- 
ada. Among  these  tribes  we  find  the  typical  caribou  culture. 
Vivid  pictures  of  the  prehistoric  caribou  hunting  life  have 
been  penned  by  Hearne  1 and  its  surviving  form  by  Warbur- 
ton  Pike. 2 In  southern  Canada  the  moose  and  other  deer 
were  also  available  and  in  the  far  north  the  musk-ox;  wood 
bison  were  also  found  in  a few  localities,  and  hares  and 
other  small  animals  were  eaten  when  needed.  Though  not 
reaching  the  seacoast  at  any  place,  these  inland  tribes  had 
within  their  range  lakes  and  rivers  well  stocked  with  fish, 
and  in  season  frequented  by  water  fowl.  As  with  the  Es- 
kimo, these  sources  of  supply  were  drawn  upon  in  season. 
Yet  all  these  foods  were  merely  supplementary,  for  the 
people  pinned  their  faith  to  the  caribou  and  developed  their 
whole  feeding  and  clothing  complex  around  this  animal. 
Consequently  the  failure  of  the  caribou  in  any  locality  for 
even  one  season  alone  would  spell  disaster. 

The  methods  of  hunting  are  fully  described  in  the  descrip- 
tive literature  of  the  several  tribes,  but,  as  always,  such 
methods  are  largely  dictated  by  the  habits  of  the  animals 
themselves.  Among  both  the  Eskimo  and  the  Indians,  the 
method  of  killing  caribou  is  to  drive  or  stampede  them  into 


6 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


artificial  or  natural  lanes  or  defiles  where  the  hunters  are 
concealed.  A variant  of  this  is  to  run  them  into  deep  water, 
where  they  are  at  the  mercy  of  swift  canoe  men.  Snaring 
is  also  highly  developed,  even  the  largest  game  being  caught 
in  this  way.  Fishing  of  whatever  kind  is  with  three  forms 
of  appliances:  the  harpoon,  the  hook  and  line,  and  the  net. 
These  methods  were  both  known  to  the  Eskimo  and  to  the 
Indian,  though  not  used  by  both  to  the  same  relative  degrees. 

The  cache  is  an  important  invention  of  this  area  and  has 
found  its  way  into  our  own  culture.  The  name  is  usually 
applied  to  an  elevated  or  a subterranean  enclosure  for  stor- 
ing dried  or  frozen  meat.  The  caribou,  living  in  great  herds, 
must  move  forward  as  they  graze  over  the  almost  barren 
tundra  and  the  hunters  must  follow  with  equal  speed.  So 
the  cache  method  was  devised  to  solve  the  problem.  The 
kill  of  the  day  is  dressed  as  quickly  as  possible  and  then 
cached,  after  which  the  pursuit  is  again  taken  up.  Thus, 
each  family  group  will  have  a number  of  stores  in  various 
accessible  places  upon  which  they  may  draw  in  case  of  need. 

The  bison  area  is  contiguous  to  the  caribou  area,  but  is  of 
far  less  extent.  It  is  also  entirely  inland,  and  like  the  upper 
portion  of  the  caribou  area,  is  comparatively  treeless,  ex- 
cept along  the  water  courses  and  upon  the  higher  ridges. 
The  tribes  formerly  residing  here  are  known  to  us  as  Buf- 
falo Indians,  and  no  characterization  could  be  more  exact. 
Along  the  foothills  of  the  mountains,  elk  were  formerly 
abundant  and  also  mountain  sheep,  and  out  on  the  plain  an- 
telope were  to  be  met,  but  these  were  obscured  by  the  seeth- 
ing masses  of  bison,  or  buffalo  encountered  everywhere, 
summer  or  winter.  Edible  fish  were  not  abundant,  and 
some  of  the  tribes  observed  a taboo  against  them  as  well  as 
all  water  animals. 

The  methods  of  hunting  bison  bear  certain  analogies  to 
those  employed  in  the  caribou  area.  Before  horses  were  in- 
troduced, small  herds  were  enticed  or  stampeded  into  en- 


HUNTING  AREAS 


7 

closures  where  they  were  shot  down  at  will;  at  other  times 
they  were  rounded  up  by  systematic  grass  firing  and  while 
in  compact  formation  attacked  at  close  range  by  foot  men.3 
In  favorable  times,  the  surplus  meat  was  dried  and  packed 
in  bags. 

This  is  a convenient  place  to  note  the  manufacture  of 
pemmican,  a process  which  appears  in  some  parts  of  the 
caribou  area,  but  which  seems  to  be  more  characteristic  of 
this  area.  To  make  pemmican,  the  dried  meat  of  the  buf- 
falo was  pounded  fine  with  stone  hammers  and  packed  in 
bags  which  were  then  sealed  with  melted  fat.  A special 
variety  of  pemmican  was  prepared  by  pulverizing  wild  cher- 
ries, pits  and  all,  and  mixing  with  the  pounded  meat.  This 
is  known  in  the  literature  as  berry  pemmican.  There  was 
also  a variety  in  eastern  Canada  and  New  England  made 
of  deer  and  moose  meat.  When  properly  protected,  pem- 
mican will  keep  for  many  months  and  being  compact  and 
easily  transported  forms  an  exceedingly  valuable  food. 
From  the  very  first  it  was  adopted  by  Canadian  and  Arctie 
explorers  among  whom  it  is  still  the  chief  dependence. 

In  pemmican  we  have  our  first  good  example  of  the  many 
ingenious  processes  by  which  the  various  groups  of  man- 
kind have  converted  raw  foods  into  more  serviceable  and 
conservable  forms.  In  all  cases,  the  chief  consideration 
seems  to  have  been  its  preservation  and  availability  for 
transport. 

The  next  great  hunting  area  is  in  South  America.  From 
the  interior  of  Argentine  to  the  Horn  we  have  in  the  main 
an  open  country,  suggesting  the  central  portion  of  the  United 
States.  There  are  few  trees  and  in  some  parts,  as  the  cele- 
brated Pampas,  there  are  rich,  grassy  plains.  At  the  time 
of  discovery  (1492),  the  fauna  here  was  not  so  rich  as  that 
of  the  northern  continent.  Yet  the  guanaco  was  abundant. 
This  is  considered  to  be  the  wild  llama,  a ruminant  having 
close  similarities  to  the  camels  of  the  Old  World,  but  much 


8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


smaller.  Another  animal  of  economic  importance  was  the 
rhea,  or  American  ostrich.  The  early  accounts  suggest  that 
the  original  human  inhabitants  of  this  area  were  a nomadic 
hunting  people,  primarily  dependent  upon  the  guanaco, 
which  they  pursued  with  the  bola  and  the  bow.  For  this 
reason  we  shall  speak  of  the  region  as  the  guanaco  area. 
In  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  area,  or  lower  Pata- 
gonia, we  find  a condition  somewhat  like  that  of  the  Es- 
kimo, the  tribes  tending  to  live  more  on  fish  and  seals,  until 
we  reach  the  Fuegians,  who  were  almost  entirely  dependent 
upon  marine  fauna. 

Spanish  colonization  soon  made  great  changes  in  the  gua- 
naco area  proper  by  the  introduction  of  horses  and  cattle.* 
The  latter  soon  ran  wild  in  great  herds  like  the  buffalo  of 
the  northern  continent,  and  the  former  not  only  ran  wild, 
but  were  domesticated  by  the  natives.  Dobrizhoff er 4 has 
given  us  most  readable  accounts  of  how  completely  these 
natives  assimilated  horse  culture.  Some  of  the  Patagonians 
are  still  famous  for  their  horsemanship. 

Though  it  is  true  that  in  these  three  great  hunting  areas 
the  main  food  was  flesh,  many  vegetable  products  were  used. 
Even  in  the  Arctic  the  Eskimo  gather  berries  and  edible 
roots  in  summer.  Throughout  the  caribou  area  proper,  the 
berry  crop  is  considerable,  and  judging  from  Morice’s  5 ac- 
count of  the  Carrier  some  tribes  dried  and  pressed  them 
into  cakes  for  storage.  Edible  roots  also  played  an  im- 
portant part.  As  we  come  southward  into  the  bison  area, 
the  flora  grows  somewhat  richer  in  wild  fruits,  such  as  the 
cherry,  plum,  strawberry,  etc.,  while  in  the  more  arid  por- 
tions, the  prickly  pear  is  abundant.  Of  roots  there  were  sev- 
eral species,  but  particularly  the  prairie  turnip  ( tipsina , in 
Dakota).  Even  in  the  guanaco  area  we  find  the  Aucaria 
imbricata,  a kind  of  pine  tree  growing  along  the  eastern 
border  of  the  Andes,  bearing  abundant  nuts,  not  unlike 


Col.  Church®  states  that  horses  were  purposely  turned  into  the  Pampas  in  1535. 


SALMON  AREA 


9 

chestnuts,  which  are  eaten  raw,  boiled,  or  roasted.  Here 
also  the  algarroba , or  mesquite  tree,  abounds  and  from  its 
seeds  a food  is  prepared.  In  the  treeless  parts  of  Patagonia 
are  the  prickly  pear  and  a few  other  scant  food  plants,  while 
the  pampas  proper  is  devoid  of  all  except  a few  edible 
grasses.  On  the  other  hand,  the  territory  of  the  Fuegians 
is  fairly  well  provided  with  berries  which  they  use,  but  also 
produces  wild  celery  and  scurvy-grass,  of  which  they  make 
no  use. 

THE  SALMON  AREA 

All  the  streams  between  San  Francisco  Bay,  California, 
and  Bering  Straits,  Alaska,  draining  into  the  Pacific,  are 
visited  by  salmon.  These  ascend  from  the  sea  en  masse  to 
spawn,  constituting  a “run,”  in  local  speech.  As  they  reach 
the  very  headwaters,  they  are  available  to  all  the  tribes  of 
this  drainage,  even  those  far  inland.  The  run  for  each 
species  of  salmon  occurs  but  once  a year  and  this  developed 
periodic  seasonal  practices  not  unlike  those  of  agricultural 
peoples.  As  the  time  for  the  run  approaches,  the  tribes 
gather  upon  the  banks  of  the  streams,  equipped  with  fishing 
appliances,  dip  nets,  harpoons,  and  weirs,  as  the  local  con- 
ditions may  require.  Then  when  the  salmon  pass,  they  are 
taken  out  in  great  numbers,  to  be  dried  and  smoked.  In 
the  interior  of  the  Columbia  Basin,  the  dried  fish  are  after- 
wards pounded  fine  in  mortars,  thus  being  reduced  to  a 
state  not  unlike  pemmican.  This  pulverized  food  is  care- 
fully stored  in  baskets  as  the  chief  reserve  food  supply  of 
the  year.  The  tribes  on  the  coast  and  outlying  islands  en- 
gage in  sea  fishing  all  the  year  and  are  almost  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  the  marine  fauna,  but  those  of  the  interior 
hunt  deer  and  other  game  to  complete  their  diet. 

Of  vegetable  foods  there  are  several  varieties.  Inland, 
several  species  of  roots  are  gathered,  dried  and  pounded  fine 
in  the  same  manner  as  dried  fish.  The  chief  root  is  camas 


IO 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


but  there  are  several  other  species  in  general  use.  In  their 
proper  season,  berries  are  also  very  numerous  in  certain 
localities. 

One  striking  peculiarity  of  these  inland  people  is  the  ex- 
tent to  which  they  pounded  or  pulverized  dried  flesh  and 
vegetables  quite  like  agricultural  peoples  treat  forms  of 
grain.  The  trait  seems  to  be  almost  a conventionality  and 
leads  one  to  suspect  that  the  idea  was  borrowed  from  their 
southern  neighbors  who,  as  we  shall  see,  were  in  contact 
with  grain  grinders.  The  tribes  of  the  coast,  particularly 
the  indented  island-studded  part  north  of  Puget  Sound,  did 
not  have  this  pulverizing  habit,  nor  did  they  make  very  ex- 
tensive use  of  roots.  Dried  fish  and  berries  were  their 
staples.  Where  available,  a kind  of  clover  was  eaten  green 
and  the  inner  bark  of  the  hemlock  worked  up  into  a kind 
of  bread-like  food. 

While  in  this  area  the  tribes  of  the  coast  maintained  fairly 
permanent  villages;  those  of  the  interior  were  rather  no- 
madic, or  more  correctly,  moved  in  an  annual  cycle,  accord- 
ing to  their  food  habits.  Thus  at  the  salmon  run  each  group 
took  its  accustomed  place  on  a river  bank;  then  as  berries 
ripened,  they  shifted  to  the  localities  where  they  were  abun- 
dant; later  they  moved  again  for  the  gathering  of  roots; 
again  for  hunting  deer,  and  so  on  in  one  ceaseless  round. 
To  a less  extent  this  seasonal  shifting  prevailed  among  the 
coast  tribes,  for  by  the  use  of  canoes  they  could  readily 
reach  the  places  sought  and  return  again  to  their  villages. 

This  correlation  between  the  use  of  wild  foods  and  in- 
stability of  residence  is  perhaps  more  striking  in  this  area 
than  in  the  others  but,  nevertheless,  holds  for  all.  The  Es- 
kimo regularly  shifted  from  sea  to  inland  and  back  again 
as  winter  set  in,  likewise,  the  caribou,  bison,  and  guanaco 
hunters,  each  in  their  respective  habitats,  shifted  according 
to  seasonal  requirements.  The  more  extended  and  definite 
annual  cycle  of  the  salmon  area  seems  to  be  due  to  the  fact 


ACORN  AREA 


n 


that  each  of  their  staple  foods  was  available  for  but  single 
short  periods  of  the  year,  not  unlike  so  many  successive  har- 
vests of  an  agricultural  people  whose  fields  were  far  apart. 

THE  AREA  OF  WILD  SEEDS 

The  area  of  wild  seeds  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  “acorn 
area,”  and  will  frequently  be  so  designated  in  this  work. 
However,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia acorns  are  found  only  on  the  uplands  and  mountains 
and  that  in  the  surrounding  parts  and  eastward  over  the 
Great  Basin  wild  seeds  take  their  place.  Yet,  since  the  most 
typical  culture  is  found  in  central  and  southern  California, 
we  may  consider  the  acorn  the  most  characteristic  food. 

At  the  proper  time  acorns  are  stored  in  large  basketry 
bins  to  protect  them  against  thieving  rodents.  The  raw 
acorns  are  not  palatable,  for  they  contain  a large  amount  of 
tannic  acid;  however,  this  objection  is  eliminated  by  pound- 
ing the  kernels  into  flour  and  then  leeching  with  hot  water. 
Good  descriptions  of  this  ingenious  process  may  be  read  in 
the  publications  of  the  University  of  California.  From  this 
substance,  a kind  of  bread  or  cake  is  made,  which  proves  to 
be  a very  satisfactory  food,  but  even  here  this  is  supple- 
mented by  foods  from  several  varieties  of  wild  seeds,  roots, 
herbs,  and  grasses.7  The  tribes  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
mountains  out  on  the  arid  plateaus  are  forced  to  get  along 
without  the  acorn  and  in  consequence  eke  out  their  living 
from  but  a scant  flora.  One  peculiarity  of  the  area  is  the 
rarity  of  berries  and  fruits,  which  is  in  contrast  to  the  in- 
terior of  the  salmon  area. 

The  term  “digger,”  generally  applied  to  the  natives  of 
this  area,  was  suggested  by  their  persistent  gathering  of 
roots  and  plants.  It  was  also  an  expression  of  contempt 
due  to  the  contrast  between  the  scanty  diet  of  these  Indians 
and  those  of  the  bison  area  with  whom  travelers  were  more 
familiar.  Likewise,  the  fauna  was  not  particularly  favor- 


12 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


able.  Deer  were  to  be  found  in  the  mountains,  but  rarely 
in  large  numbers,  and  small  game  animals  were  not  nu- 
merous. In  the  eastern  part,  the  rabbit  was  an  important 
item,  and  as  noted  above,  salmon  were  caught  wherever 
they  made  “runs,”  and  other  fish  were  used  when  available. 
Likewise,  the  coast  people  depended  to  some  extent  upon  the 
marine  fauna.  Thus,  notwithstanding  the  popular  idea  of 
modern  California  as  an  ideal  habitat  for  us  modern  Amer- 
icans, it  must  be  regarded  as  rather  unfavorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  primitive  tribes,  for  while  enough  food  could 
be  found,  the  daily  routine  of  gathering  it  in  small  bits 
was  time-consuming  in  the  extreme.  Moreover,  in  parts  of 
Nevada,  Utah,  and  Idaho  the  margin  of  even  this  sort  of 
food  was  so  narrow  that  many  species  of  insects  were  eaten. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  AREAS 

There  are  just  two  cultivated  native  food  plants,  maize 
and  manioc  (cassava),  that  rise  to  the  level  of  chief  staples. 
Both  take  the  highest  rank  in  excellence  among  the  world’s 
foods,  and  after  the  epoch-making  discovery  of  Columbus 
were  quickly  spread  to  other  parts  of  the  world.8  The 
uniqueness  of  these  plants  and  the  sharp  contrast  they  make 
when  compared  with  the  cultivated  staples  of  the  Old  World, 
is  the  strongest  possible  argument  for  the  independent  de- 
velopment of  American  culture. 

In  the  first  place,  we  have  a distinct  agricultural  area  in 
the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States,  including  a very  small 
section  of  Canada.  The  chief  crop  was  maize,  on  which 
account  we  speak  of  this  division  as  the  eastern  maize  area. 
Although  its  contact  with  the  great  agricultural  area  of 
Mexico  and  the  south  is  slightly  broken  in  Texas,  we  have 
no  reason  to  doubt  a historical  connection  between  the  two 
areas,  and  consequently  we  may  consider  them  as  parts  of 
the  same  whole.  The  remaining  inland  boundaries  of  this 


AGRICULTURAL  AREA'S  13 

eastern  maize  area  mark  the  approximate  climatic  limits  to 
its  growth.  These  limits  also  define  the  distribution  of  agri- 
culture, from  which  we  have  reason  to  infer  that  the  intro- 
duction of  that  art  did  not  precede  the  introduction  of  maize 
culture.  However,  this  is  a problem  to  be  discussed  later. 
We  see,  then,  that  the  Indian  tribes  had  extended  agricul- 
ture in  the  east  to  its  physical  limits.  The  stretch  of  country 
from  Louisiana  to  Maine  presents  considerable  climatic  va- 
riety which  is  reflected  in  the  aboriginal  crop  lists,  for 
though  maize  was  grown  throughout,  it  seems  to  have  been 
more  exclusively  toward  the  north.  Roughly  considered, 
in  the  northern  half  of  the  area,  the  crops  were  squash, 
beans,  and  maize,  all  planted  in  the  same  field,  while  in  the 
southern  half,  maize  was  supplemented  by  a kind  of  millet, 
and  squashes  gave  way  to  melons,  sweet  potatoes,  and 
gourds. 

Tobacco,  though  not  strictly  a food,  may  be  noted  here. 
It  was  extensively  grown  in  the  south,  and  its  cultivation 
carried  as  far  north  as  the  climate  permitted. 

Wild  plants  were  also  abundant  and  many  species  were 
used.  Parker’s  9 exhaustive  study  of  Iroquois  foods  shows 
how  completely  that  people  drew  upon  the  contiguous  flora. 
From  the  data  at  hand,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  in 
the  south  a still  greater  number  of  species  were  eaten.  In 
the  far  north  wild  rice  became  almost  a staple;  but  while, 
as  Jenks  10  has  shown  in  his  laudable  investigation  of  this 
food,  it  was  sometimes  planted  by  the  natives,  it  was  not 
truly  domesticated  as  was  rice  in  the  Old  World. 

Of  manufactured  foods,  other  than  those  made  of  maize, 
maple  sugar  takes  first  place.  Practically  every  essential 
detail  of  the  process  now  in  use  was  developed  by  the  In- 
dians of  this  area  before  1492.  The  sugar  maple  being  a 
northern  tree,  the  trait  is  almost  peculiar  to  the  northern 
half  of  the  area,  though  the  box  elder  and  a few  other  trees 
have,  in  later  times  at  least,  permitted  a makeshift  exten- 


i4  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

sion  of  the  art.  That  any  kind  of  sugar  was  made  in  the 
south  is  doubtful. 

Another  food  deserving  mention  is  oil  derived  from  hick- 
ory and  walnuts.  This  oil  was  highly  characteristic  of  the 
south  and  added  a valuable  element  to  the  otherwise  starchy 
diet.  In  early  days  the  natives  did  a good  business  in  sup- 
plying this  oil  to  the  colonists.  In  some  parts  of  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  plain  tuckahoe  (a  fungus)  bread  was  made,  and 
in  the  south,  persimmon  bread. 

Of  foods  and  dishes  made  with  maize  there  is  a long  list, 
which  is  in  the  main  the  same  as  we  ourselves  use.  Two 
noteworthy  studies  of  this  aspect  of  maize  culture  by  Carr 11 
and  Parker 12  show  how  completely  the  white  colonists  ab- 
sorbed the  maize  complex  of  the  Indians. 

One  important  characteristic  of  agriculture  in  this  area 
is  that  it  was  woman’s  work,  the  man  being  a hunter.  This 
sexual  division  of  labor  tended  to  give  a well-balanced  diet, 
but  was  not  constant  throughout,  for  in  the  far  north  where 
agriculture  dwindled  out  into  the  caribou  area,  vegetable 
foods  were  decidedly  in  the  minority,  while  in  the  extreme 
south,  where  agriculture  was  rather  intense  and  the  flora 
rich,  the  fruits  of  the  chase  were  in  the  minority.  The  chief 
game  was  the  deer.  The  bison  of  the  prairies  found  its 
way  as  far  east  as  the  Alleghanies,  but  except  in  the  open 
country  was  not  an  important  item.  The  wild  turkey  and 
various  small  game  were  also  abundant.  Fish  were  taken 
where  found  by  the  usual  methods,  but  in  the  south  the  use 
of  poisons  was  general. 

Next  we  turn  to  the  great  area  of  intensive  agriculture, 
the  only  one  in  the  New  World,  where  work  in  the  fields  is 
not  regarded  as  woman’s  work  exclusively,  and  in  which 
hunting  ceases  to  be  an  occupation.  As  may  be  anticipated, 
it  is  also  the  home  of  the  most  advanced  Indian  cultures. 
We  see  from  the  map  that  it  extends  to  about  35°  on  either 
side  of  the  equator  and  is  thus  almost  entirely  within  the 


AGRICULTURAL  AREAS 


15 


PLANTS  CULTIVATED  BY  THE  NATIVES  OF  THE 
NEW  WORLD  BEFORE  1 492 

The  following  list  enumerates  the  most  important  plants 
originally  cultivated  by  the  several  Indian  tribes  before  the 
discovery  of  the  New  World  in  1492. 


Name 

Agave,  or  aloe  ( Agave  americana  Linn.) 
Alligator  pear  ( Persea  gratissima  Geartn.  f.) 
Arrowroot  ( Maranta  arundinacea  Linn.) 
Barnyard  grass  (. Echmochloa  crusgalli  (L.) 
Beauv.) 

Bean,  kidney  ( Phaseolus  vulgaris  Linn.) 

Bean,  Lima  ( Phaseolus  lunatus  L.,  var.  macro- 
carpus Benth.) 

Cacao  ( Theobroma  cacao  Linn.) 

Capsicum  or  Chili  pepper  ( Capsicum  annuum 
Linn,  and  Capsicum  frutescens  Linn.) 

Cashew  nut  ( Anacardium  occidentale  Linn.) 

Coca,  or  cocaine  ( Erythroxylum  coca  Lamarck) 
Corn  (See  maize) 

Cotton  ( Gossypium  barbadense  Linn.) 

Cherimoya  ( Anona  Cherimolia  Miller) 

Gourd  (Cucurbita  pepo  var.  ovifera  Linn.) 

Guava  ( Psidium  guajava  Linn.) 

Jerusalem  artichoke  ( Helianthus  tuberosus  Linn.) 
Madia  ( Madia  sativa  Molina) 

Maize  ( Zea  mays  Linn.) 

Manioc  ( Manihot  utilissima  Pohl.) 

Mate  or  Paraguay  tea  ( Ilex  paraguariensis  St. 

Hil.  and  Ilex  conocarpa  Reiss.) 

Papaw  ( Carica  papaya  Linn.) 

Peanut  ( Arachis  hypo  gee  a Linn.) 

Pineapple  ( Ananas  sativus  Schult.  f.) 

Potato  ( Solatium  tuberosum  Linn.) 

Prickly  pear  or  Indian  fig  ( Opuntia  Hcus-indica 
Mill.) 

Pumpkin  ( Cucurbita  pepo  Linn.) 

Oca  ( Oxalis  tuberosa  Molina) 

( Oxalis  crenata  Jacq.) 

Quinine  ( Cinchona  calisaya  Wedd.) 

( Cinchona  officinalis  Linn.),  and  others 
Quinoa  ( Chenopodium  quinoa  Willd.) 

Squash  ( Cucurbita  maxima  Duchesne) 

Star  apple  (Chry sophy llum  cainito  Linn.) 

Sweet  potato  ( Ipomoea  batatas  Poir.) 

Tobacco  ( Nicotiana  tabacum  Linn.)  and  other 
species 

Tomato  (.Lycopersicum  esculentum  Mill.) 


Area  of  Cultivation 
Mexico  to  Chile 

Central  America  and  West  Indies 
Tropical  America 

Mexico  and  southern  United  States 
Distribution  same  as  maize 

Brazil  and  Peru 
Tropical  America 

Tropical  America 
Tropical  America 
Peru  and  Bolivia 

Tropical  America 
Peru  and  Brazil 
Distribution  same  as  maize 
Tropical  America 
Mississippi  Valley 
Chile 

See  map  (Fig.  3) 

See  map  (Fig.  3) 

Paraguay  and  western  Brazil 
Brazil 

West  Indies  and  Central  America 
Peru  and  Brazil 
Mexico  and  Central  America 
Chile  and  Peru 

Mexico 

Temperate  North  America 
Chile  and  Bolivia 
Chile  and  Bolivia 
Bolivia  and  Peru 
Bolivia  and  Peru 
Colombia  and  Peru 
Tropical  America 
West  Indies  and  Panama 
Temperate  America 

See  map  (Fig.  6) 

Peru 


i6 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


torrid  zone.  On  the  other  hand,  all  of  this  surface,  except 
a narrow  coast  belt  and  a few  intervening  valleys,  is  the 
most  elevated  land  in  the  New  World.  It  is  upon  these  high- 
lands exclusively  that  maize  was  grown.  Furthermore, 
there  is  a general  tendency  to  aridity  throughout,  which, 
combined  with  the  elevation,  gives  a very  favorable  climate. 
It  is  just  the  region  where  the  most  intensive  cultures  would 
be  anticipated.  As  we  proceed  with  the  later  sections  of 
this  book,  the  reader  may  be  appalled  at  the  complexity  and 
variety  of  peoples  in  this  area;  hence  it  is  fortunate  that  at 
the  outset  we  are  able  to  see  one  element  of  unity  in  the 
whole. 

Beginning  with  the  north,  we  have  the  pueblo-dwelling 
peoples  of  southwestern  United  States  and  northern  Mex- 
ico. Besides  maize,  beans,  melons,  squashes  and  sunflower 
seed  were  the  chief  crops.  In  historic  times,  at  least,  onions 
and  chili  peppers  were  favorite  garden  plants;  and  accord- 
ing to  local  conditions,  the  following  wild  plants  were 
largely  used;  pinon  nut,  mesquite,  bean  and  saguaro.  To- 
bacco and  cotton  were  cultivated.  Fish  as  food  was  not  an 
important  factor,  in  fact,  it  was  under  the  ban  of  some 
tribes.  Game  was  rather  scarce,  rabbits  being  the  most 
numerous.  Turkeys  were  domesticated.  Of  prepared 
foods,  the  most  unique  is  the  piki  maize  bread,  made  in  thin, 
paper-like  sheets. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  North  American  part  of  the 
area  the  Nahua  and  Maya  may  be  taken  as  the  types.  Here 
agriculture  was  more  highly  organized  than  in  any  of  the 
areas  we  have  discussed.  With  the  former,  maize  is  made 
into  peculiar  cakes  called  “tortillas,1 ” which,  with  beans  and 
the  inevitable  chili  pepper,  constitutes  the  usual  menu.  If 
we  add  to  this  cacao  we  have  the  list  for  the  Maya  also. 
In  the  lower  parts,  especially  in  Central  America,  there  were 
many  fruits,  many  of  which  are  now  cultivated  by  Euro- 
peans, as  the  mammae  apple,  the  alligator  pear,  the  cashew 


AGRICULTURAL  AREAS 


*7 

nut,  together  with  the  fleshy  stalk  of  its  tree,  the  tomato, 
pineapple,  etc. 

The  Andean  region  of  South  America  is  peculiar  in  that 
at  almost  any  point  one  may  shift  from  high  to  low  valleys, 
thus  quickly  passing  through  several  varieties  of  climate. 
Likewise,  one  may,  by  lateral  shifting,  encounter  deserts 
and  the  most  well-watered  stretches  in  succession.  All  this 
tends  to  nullify  the  effects  of  changing  latitude,  so  that  the 
aggregate  agricultural  conditions  in  Colombia,  Ecuador  and 
Peru  can  be  made  the  same.  Still  we  find  some  cultural 
differences. 

The  Chibcha  peoples  of  Colombia  in  the  highlands  raised 
maize,  potatoes,  sweet  potatoes,  manioc,  beans,  tobacco, 
coca,  and  cotton.  They  did  not  have  the  llama,  and  game 
was  scarce,  but  carefully  protected  and  conserved.  The 
other  peoples  of  Colombia  did  more  hunting,  but  in  addi- 
tion still  cultivated  maize.  Salt  was  manufactured  in  favor- 
able localities  and  formed  an  important  article  of  trade. 

The  adjoining  highlands  of  Venezuela  formerly  had  a 
hunting  and  maize-growing  population  which  was  extermi- 
nated by  the  Spaniards. 

Ecuador  was  partly  under  the  control  of  the  Inca  at  the 
Spanish  conquest  but,  no  doubt,  still  retained  its  former 
food  habits.  Its  population  was  almost  exclusively  agricul- 
tural. Maize  was  the  staple  except  on  the  highest  levels, 
where  quinoa  was  substituted.  Potatoes  were  universal, 
and  coca,  peppers,  and  other  plants  in  the  lowest  valleys. 
On  the  coast  there  was  fishing. 

To  the  south  was  the  Inca  empire  with  its  highly  organ- 
ized agriculture.  Here  the  crops  were  about  the  same  as 
for  Ecuador,  but  in  favorable  places  manioc,  ground  nuts, 
beans,  gourds,  tomatoes,  guava,  and  fiber  plants  were  raised. 
Hunting  was  carried  on  in  an  organized  manner,  large 
drives  being  made  over  great  areas.  The  game  animals  were 
chiefly  the  guanaco  and  vicuna,  of  which  the  flesh  was  often 


i8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


dried  and  stored  for  the  use  of  the  army.  The  familiar 
term  “jerked  meat”  is  believed  to  have  come  from  the 
charqui,  as  this  dried  meat  was  called  in  Peru.  Birds  were 
taken  in  nets,  and  on  the  coast  there  was  some  fishing. 

The  great  basin  of  the  Amazon  with  the  adjoining  coast 
is  one  of  the  world's  most  typical  tropical  areas,  but  almost 
everywhere  throughout  there  was  some  native  agriculture. 
As  a whole,  the  area  presents  some  geographical  variety, 
for  the  eastern  part  of  South  America  also  has  its  high- 
lands, though  far  less  pretentious  than  those  of  the  west. 
Here,  however,  the  elevation  was  much  less;  consequently, 
maize  did  not  become  the  chief  cultivated  food,  manioc  or 
cassava,  taking  its  place.  Otherwise,  the  range  of  plants 
was  about  the  same  as  in  the  Andean  region.  Tobacco, 
potatoes,  and  cotton  were  common.  The  celebrated  mate, 
or  Paraguay  tea,  and  the  edible  clay  of  the  Botocudo  peoples 
are  the  principal  unique  features.  Yet,  in  no  case  were  the 
tribes  of  these  highlands  so  dependent  upon  agriculture  as 
were  those  of  the  west  coast.  In  this  respect  they  present 
a close  analogy  to  the  eastern  maize  users  of  North  Amer- 
ica, with  whom  they  are  geographically  connected  by  the 
West  Indies.  Further,  the  almost  complete  delegation  of 
agricultural  responsibilities  to  the  women  is  in  itself  an  indi- 
cation of  the  large  part  hunting  played  in  their  sustenance. 

Finally,  we  come  to  the  interior  of  the  continent  where 
high  temperature,  low  elevation,  and  abundant  moisture 
combine  to  produce  rank  flora.  Our  knowledge  of  this  area 
is  still  rather  scant,  but  what  information  we  have  indicates 
that  the  whole  interior  Amazon  Basin  with  the  contiguous 
east  coast  noted  above  should  be  considered  as  one  distinct 
food  area.  That  the  art  of  agriculture  is  now  absolutely 
unknown  to  any  of  the  Amazon  tribes  is  doubtful,  because 
far  into  the  interior  we  find  manioc,  tobacco,  coca,  pumpkins, 
sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  growing  in  the  village  fields.  Also, 
maize  has  been  reported  from  a number  of  localities,  though 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


*9 

the  climate  is  unfavorable  to  it.  The  blowgun  with  poi- 
soned darts  is  used  in  hunting,  the  game  consisting  largely 
of  birds  and  small  tree-climbing  animals.  No  living  thing  is 
so  abundant  as  to  offer  opportunity  for  food  specialization, 
and  the  native  must  make  use  of  everything  he  can  lay  hands 
upon.  On  the  upper  Amazon  and  elsewhere  the  taking  of 
fish  by  poisoning  the  water  is  common.  A very  charac- 
teristic dish  of  this  whole  area  is  the  “pepper-pot.”  Small 
game  of  whatever  kind  is  cast  into  a pot  and  boiled  into  a 
thick  broth  made  hot  with  peppers.  The  pot  is 
emptied,  but  the  contents  continually  augmented. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 

Now  that  we  have  gained  a .general  'perspective  of  New 
World  food  traits,  we  may  note  some  of  their  most  distinc- 
tive characteristics.  It  is  clear  that  the  art  of  agriculture 
centers'  around  maize,  for  almost  everywhere  we  find  it 
grown.  Its  only  rival  is  manioc,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  this 
plant  is  resorted  to  only  in  spots  where  it  is  too  moist  for 
maize.  In  the  same  way,  the  quinoa  displaces  it  in  the  high- 
est altitudes  of  the  Andes.  But  this  only  serves  to  show  how 
maize  dominates  aboriginal  agriculture.  We  can  be  quite 
sure  that  if  we  knew  the  full  history  of  this  plant  we  should 
have  a good  insight  into  the  development  of  the  higher  cul- 
tures of  Mexico  and  Peru,  yet  in  spite  of  its  obvious  im- 
portance, very  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject. 
Though  this  homely  art  of  maize  culture  is  still  practised 
by  many  surviving  natives,  the  only  field  studies  we  have 
approaching  a satisfactory  standard  are  those  of  Parker13 
for  the  Iroquois,  Hough  14  for  the  Hopi,  and  Wilson 15  for 
the  Hidatsa.  For  the  Pueblo  peoples  who  still  raise  maize 
in  the  aboriginal  way  we  have  little  more  than  the  pioneer 
work  of  Cushing.16  With  respect  to  Mexico  and  the  An- 
dean region  the  literature  is  even  more  fragmentary.  While 


20  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  3.  The  Distribution  of  Maize  and  Manioc 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


21 


we  do  have  a great  deal  of  more  or  less  generalized  infor- 
mation, this  has  been  re-stated  so  often  that  it  is  difficult  to 
weigh  it  and  even  the  very  best  of  such  literature  can  never 
take  the  place  of  exhaustive  field  studies.  For  example,  it 
is  only  from  the  works  of  Parker17  and  Wilson18  that  we 
can  form  a definite  conclusion  as  to  how  closely  the  culti- 
vation of  maize  of  white  farmers  follows  aboriginal  pat- 
terns. 

However,  the  gross  characteristics  of  aboriginal  maize 
culture  are  clearly  known.  In  the  first  place,  no  beasts  of 
draught  were  employed,  but  all  was  by  hand.  Nowhere  do 
we  find  a plowing  machine  drawn  by  men.  As  an  inde- 
pendent proposition  it  may  seem  strange  that  the  Peruvians, 
with  all  their  genius,  should  have  missed  the  idea  of  har- 
nessing either  men  or  llamas  to  a digging  tool,  but  when  we 
note  that  maize  grows  best  in  bunches  or  “hills,”  while  the 
Old  World  inventors  of  the  plow  sowed  grain  broadcast, 
we  find  a partial  explanation.  The  heaping  up  of  earth 
around  the  growing  plant  is  still  one  of  the  fundamentals 
in  maize  culture.  It  is  a fair  assumption  that  the  hoe  is  an 
aboriginal  solution  of  the  practical  problem  involved  here. 
The  mere  sowing  of  grain  by  the  ancients  of  the  Old  World 
was  the  one  great  problem,  for  after  that  there  was  little  to 
do  until  the  harvest,  while  in  the  case  of  maize  the  tending 
of  the  crop  was  the  most  exacting.  The  former  presents  a 
much  simpler  mechanical  problem  than  the  latter ; in  fact,  it 
is  not  until  1731  that  we  hear  of  a horse  cultivator  in  Eng- 
land. 

The  aborigines  dug  up  the  ground  with  pointed  and 
spade-like  tools.  From  New  Mexico  to  Chile,  spade-like 
tools  with  foot-rests  for  thrusting  into  the  ground  were 
common,  but  in  the  eastern  parts  of  both  continents  we  find 
a simple  digging-stick.  In  Peru  the  digging  tools  were 
sometimes  pointed  with  copper  and  bronze. 

The  hoe  was  universal  in  the  eastern  maize  area  and  seems 


22 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


23 


to  have  extended  into  the  West  Indies,  but  from  New  Mex- 
ico southward  it  does  not  appear  in  our  collections.  The 
significance  of  this  is  not  yet  clear.  The  data  for  the  eastern 
maize  area  show  us  that  the  agricultural  pattern  was  to  hoe 
up  hills  around  the  plants.  As  stated  before,  maize, 
squashes  and  beans  were  often  put  in  the  same  hill.  To- 
bacco was  planted  in  hills  and  so  were  the  sweet  potatoes  of 
the  south.  The  first  Atlantic  colonists  adopted  the  hoe  pat- 
tern of  the  native,  especially  in  the  south,  where  to  some 
extent  it  still  survives. 

Artificial  fertilization  was  practised  from  Nova  Scotia  to 
Chile.  One  method,  widely  distributed  in  both  continents, 
was  the  placing  of  fish  in  the  maize  hill.  Manures,  both 
human  and  animal,  were  used  in  parts  of  the  area  of  inten- 
sive agriculture.  So  particular  a correspondence  as  plant- 
ing with  fish,  reported  for  localities  between  New  England 
and  Peru,  points  clearly  to  a common  origin,  but  it  is  the 
study  of  the  maize  plant  itself  that  affords  the  strongest  ar- 
gument for  diffusion  from  one  center.  The  investigations 
of  Harshberger  19  and  Collins20  indicate  that  maize  was  de- 
veloped from  a wild  grass  of  the  Maya  habitat.  The  dis- 
tribution from  this  center  of  varieties  once  so  developed 
would  readily  account  for  the  uniformity  of  maize  culture 
we  have  noted.  Unfortunately,  no  careful  study  of  the 
aboriginal  varieties  of  maize  has  been  made,  but  the  data  at 
hand  suggest  that  about  all  the  distinct  kinds  we  still  have 
on  our  farms  were  in  existence  by  1492  and  that  they  ex- 
isted side  by  side  in  the  same  fields.  The  time  required  to 
stabilize  all  these  forms  and  the  subsequent  precision  of  do- 
mestic routine  that  preserved  their  racial  integrity  to  the 
present  among  some  of  the  surviving  natives,  is  one  of  the 
most  impressive  facts  of  our  subject.  Recently  a fossilized 
ear  of  corn  was  found  near  Cuzco,  but  the  data  concerning 
the  specimen  are  insufficient  for  the  determination  of  its 
geological  age.  Suffice  it  to  say,  however,  that  if  this  ear 


24 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


of  corn  should  prove  to  be  of  pleistocene  origin,  the  whole 
story  of  maize  must  be  re-written.21 

So  brief  a review  as  this  must  needs  pass  over  in  silence 
many  interesting  points,  but  we  should  give  passing  notice 
to  the  evidence  for  the  local  adaptation  of  these  widely  dis- 
tributed varieties  of  maize.  It  has  been  shown  that  the 
Hidatsa  of  the  upper  Missouri  have  trained  certain  varie- 
ties to  ripen  early  and  within  the  limits  of  the  short  season,22 
a characteristic  the  maize  of  our  eastern  farms  does  not 
manifest.  Collins23  makes  clear  that  the  Pueblo  tribes  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  have  developed  varieties  with 
long,  deep-growing  root  habits  to  reach  the  moisture  in 
their  very  arid  fields.  These  are,  no  doubt,  but  suggestions 
of  many  other  adaptations  awaiting  discovery  and  which 
present  very  interesting  chronological  problems.  Yet,  even 
as  the  case  stands,  we  must  assume  a long  period  of  time 
to  have  elapsed  since  the  initial  propagation  of  maize. 

The  art  of  irrigation  was  known  from  Arizona  to  Chile, 
and  in  Peru  was  carried  out  on  a scale  scarcely  equalled  by 
modern  nations.  The  remains  of  aqueduct  systems  in  the 
Andes  show  such  genius  and  organization  that  our  respect 
for  the  native  American  rises  to  a high  point. 

The  alternate  of  maize,  cassava  or  manioc,  deserves  spe- 
cial consideration.  Though  requiring  a more  tropical  hab- 
itat than  maize,  it  also  requires  a fairly  dry,  sandy  soil.  At 
the  period  of  discovery  it  was  found  in  the  West  Indies, 
Central  America,  and  even  in  Florida.  The  poisonous  na- 
ture of  the  juice  leads  to  a mode  of  preparation  described 
fully  in  the  special  literature.24  The  essential  procedure  is 
to  grate  the  pulpy  parts  and  squeeze  them  in  a basketry 
press  called  a tipiti.  The  pulp  is  then  made  into  cakes  and 
heated  to  drive  out  the  remaining  volatile  poison,  finally 
giving  cassava  bread,  which  is  a staple  food. 

If  we  now  take  a general  view  of  the  data  at  hand  it  ap- 
pears a fair  assumption  that  the  prevailing  type  of  agricul- 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  NARCOTICS  25 

ture  was  developed  by  a centrally  located  highland  people 
and  thence  diffused,  without  essential  modification,  both  to 
the  north  and  to  the  south.  While  the  experience  of  mod- 
ern farmers  indicates  that  the  maize  area  of  the  Indians 
could  have  been  extended  somewhat,  it  is  doubtful  if  this 
were  possible  without  fundamental  changes  in  the  technique 
of  maize  culture  and  in  social  organization.  In  other  words, 
maize  culture  did  expand  outward  from  the  central  region 
on  a primitive  level,  the  hunting  tribes  of  both  the  north 
and  the  south  borrowing  the  trait  one  after  the  other,  so  far 
as  their  habitat  permitted. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  NARCOTICS 

In  connection  with  this  discussion  of  cultivated  plants 
some  note  should  be  made  of  aboriginal  narcotics.  The 
best  known  are  tobacco  and  coca,  both  extensively  culti- 
vated in  aboriginal  times,  as  shown  on  the  distribution  map 
(Fig.  6).  The  narcotic  element  in  coca  is  cocaine,  a mod- 
ern derivative.  The  native,  however,  simply  chewed  the 
dried  leaves  mixed  with  lime  or  other  alkalis.  Such  coca 
chewing  still  prevails  in  the  area  indicated  on  the  map  and 
has  spread  to  the  natives  of  other  parts  of  both  continents, 
as  well  as  to  the  whites  themselves. 

As  will  be  noted,  the  chewing  of  tobacco  is  found  in 
South  America  contiguous  to  the  coca-chewing  area,  but  it 
also  occurs  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America.25  One  pecu- 
liarity of  the  latter  habit  is  that  the  tobacco  is  taken  with 
pulverized  shells  or  ashes,  ground  fine  in  mortars;  in  other 
words,  after  the  coca  method.  The  appearance  of  this  trait 
in  these  two  disconnected  areas  and  its  analogy  to  the  betel 
nut  culture  of  Melanesia  and  southeastern  Asia  is  truly 
puzzling. 

The  taking  of  snuff  is  also  largely  correlated  with  chew- 
ing, since  we  find  it  in  both  the  chewing  areas,  though  it 
extended  rather  well  over  the  Amazon  country  and  even  to 


26 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig . <5.  Distribution  of  Coca  and  Tobacco 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  NARCOTICS 


27 


the  West  Indies.  However,  the  usual  substance  for  making 
snuff  powder  is  said  to  be  the  Acacia  niopo  berry.  Along 
with  the  chewing  of  tobacco  go  various  forms  of  its  eat- 
ing, drinking,  licking,  etc. 

Yet,  the  most  widely  distributed  method  of  using  tobacco 
was  smoking,  of  which  three  aboriginal  forms  can  be  local- 
ized. First,  we  have  the  true  pipe  found  in  the  greater  part 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  in  the  lower  Atlantic 
side  of  South  America;  secondly,  the  cigar  in  the  West  In- 
dies and  the  greater  part  of  the  Amazon  country;  and  lastly, 
the  tubular  pipe  in  western  United  States,  Mexico,  and  Cen- 
tral America.  The  usual  form  of  this  last  is  a small  section 
of  cane  stuffed  with  crushed  tobacco  to  which  the  name 
cigarette  is  applied.  These  methods  of  smoking  are  not  so 
exclusively  localized  as  the  map  would  imply,  but  grade  one 
into  the  other. 

The  map  indicates  the  approximate  extent  of  smoking  in 
1492,  but  as  we  all  know,  the  custom  was  quickly  carried 
to  all  parts  of  the  world,  both  savage  and  civilized.  The 
Asiatic  peoples  have  a distinct  type  of  pipe  and  a different 
method  of  smoking,  which  in  late  times  has  reached  the 
Eskimo  of  Alaska  from  Siberia. 


1.  Hearne,  1795.  I. 

2.  Pike,  1892.  I. 

3.  Allen,  1876.  I. 

4.  Dobrizhoffer,  1822.  I. 

5.  Morice,  1906.  I. 

6.  Church,  1912.  I. 

7.  Merriam,  C.  Hart,  1905.  I. 

8.  Laufer,  1907.  I ; Spinden,  1917. 
II. 

9.  Parker,  1910,  I;  Waugh,  1916. 

I. 

10.  Jenks,  1900.  I. 

11.  Carr,  1896.  I. 

12.  Parker,  1910.  I. 

13.  Parker,  1910.  I. 


14.  Hough,  1915.  I. 

15.  Wilson,  G.  L.,  1917.  I. 

16.  Cushing,  1884.  I,  1920.  I. 

17.  Parker,  1910.  I. 

18.  Wilson,  G.  L.,  1917.  I. 

19.  Harshberger,  1893.  I. 

20.  Collins,  1914.  I. 

21.  Collins,  1919.  I. 

22.  Wilson,  L.,  and  Atkinson,  M., 

1915.  I ; Will  and  Hyde,  1917. 1. 

23.  Collins,  1914.  I. 

24.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I. 

25.  McGuire,  1899.  I;  Krause, 
1885.  I. 


CHAPTER  II 


DOMESTICATION  OF  ANIMALS  AND  METHODS 
OF  TRANSPORTATION 

The  domestication  of  animals  and  methods  of  transpor- 
tation may  be  treated  as  a single  division  of  our  subject, 
because  from  the  standpoint  of  Old  World  culture,  one  of 
these  concepts  calls  the  other  promptly  to  mind,  and  even 
in  aboriginal  America  there  is  found  some  relation  between 
the  two.  The  most  common  domesticated  animals  were  the 
dog,  the  llama,  and  the  related  alpaca.  With  the  exception 
of  the  guinea  pig  in  Peru  there  were  no  others.  It  is  true 
that  we  have  on  record  instances  of  individual  animals  of 
other  species  being  tamed,  but  in  no  case  were  they  propa- 
gated. 

Of  birds,  we  have  the  turkey  of  Mexico  and  the  Pueblo 
tribes  of  the  United  States.  Lawson1  is  responsible  for 
the  statement  that  in  Carolina  cranes  were  bred  in  captivity, 
while,  according  to  Roger  Williams,  the  Narragansett 
trained  hawks  to  guard  their  fields.  But  all  these  are  ex- 
ceptional cases.  Also,  eagles  and  serpents  were  sometimes 
confined  for  ceremonial  reasons,  but  not  truly  domesticated. 
The  bee  was  domesticated  in  Mexico  by  the  Aztec  and  the 
Maya,  as  is  still  the  case  among  some  groups  of  natives  in 
Central  America  and  northwest  Brazil. 

The  dog  appears  in  Paleolithic  Europe  in  close  associa- 
tion with  the  remains  of  man  and  was  practically  universal 
in  aboriginal  America.  Thus,  the  history  of  its  development 
and  dispersion  over  the  earth  would  in  a large  measure  be 
the  history  of  man's  cultural  achievements.  So  it  is  quite 

28 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


29 


Fig.  7.  Distribution  of  Animal  Transport 


30 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


natural  that  we  have  a large  body  of  literature  on  the  dog. 
Unfortunately,  this  is  largely  speculative,  whereas  what  we 
need  for  our  discussion  is  actual  investigation.  However, 
a recent  study  of  the  New  World  dog,  by  Allen,  seems  to 
prove  that  the  dogs  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Worlds 
had  a common  origin,  with  their  center  of  dispersion  in 
Asia.2 

The  available  data  indicate  that  in  the  New  World  dogs 
served  at  least  four  purposes : transportation,  hunting, 
guarding  and  companionship,  or  food,  according  to  locality. 
They  varied  greatly  in  size  and  form,  from  the  small,  pug- 
like type  found  in  Peru  and  the  hairless  variety  of  the 
tropics,  to  the  great  hairy  beasts  reared  in  some  parts  of  the 
Arctic.  Since  it  is  certain  that  all  dogs  will  readily  cross 
with  wolves  and  foxes  and  yet  tend  to  remain  fertile,  the 
preservation  of  these  types  must  have  required  some  selec- 
tive breeding.  The  only  definite  study  of  native  dog  culture 
so  far  made  is  that  of  Wilson  3 for  the  Hidatsa  (Siouan) 
which  reveals  a complex  not  inferior  to  that  for  agriculture. 
The  Peruvians  are  credited  with  three  distinct  varieties  of 
dog,  the  contemporaneousness  of  which  necessitates  our 
assuming  the  existence  of  breeding  control  similar  to  that 
exercised  by  us.  However,  since  the  methods  of  propa- 
gation are  unknown,  except  for  a few  northern  localities,  a 
comparative  discussion  of  the  subject  is  out  of  the  question. 

Dog  transportation,  on  the  other  hand,  has  received  care- 
ful consideration.  The  most  striking  characteristic  is  its 
limited  distribution,  for,  notwithstanding  that  the  dog  oc- 
curs everywhere,  its  use  in  transportation  is  confined  to  the 
caribou  and  bison  areas  with  very  narrow  fringes  in  those 
adjoining.  Above  the  forest  line  dogs  were  made  to  draw 
sledges,  a trait  quite  characteristic  of  the  Eskimo,  but  found 
among  the  most  northern  Indians  of  Canada  as  well.  These 
sledges  have  straight  parallel  runners  and  do  not  differ  es- 
sentially from  our  own  simple  farm  types.  There  are  dif- 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


3i 


ferent  methods  of  harnessing,  but  for  the  most  part  the 
dogs  are  hitched  by  long  single  traces  and  run  somewhat 
fan-shaped  with  the  leader  at  the  apex.  Excellent  descrip- 
tions are  given  in  Arctic  books  of  travel.4 

In  all  the  wooded  parts  of  the  caribou  area  a toboggan  is 
used,  the  snow  being  rather  too  soft  for  sledges.  This  is 
also  the  great  snowshoe  area.  While  dogs  were  used  to 
drag  these  toboggans,  the  hunters  themselves  not  infre- 
quently drew  them.  The  early  development  of  the  Canadian 
fur  trade  by  the  Hudson’s  Bay  and  French  companies 
greatly  stimulated  dog  traction  and  greatly  increased  the 
use  of  sledges  where  ice  conditions  permitted.  The  former 
southern  limits  of  the  toboggan  are  not  certainly  known  but 
it  seemed  to  end  with  the  O jibway  and  Iroquois,  though 
it  may  have  been  used  along  the  upper  Missouri.5 

In  the  spring  and  summer  dogs  were  made  to  bear  packs 
and  drag  tent  poles.6  This  method  was  more  widely  dis- 
tributed than  the  use  of  sledges  and  toboggans,  covering 
the  entire  caribou  and  bison  areas  and  extending  somewhat 
into  the  inland  portion  of  the  salmon  area.  In  the  bison 
area,  particularly  in  the  northern  part,  we  find  an  original 
contrivance  known  to  us  as  a travois.  Though  of  two  or 
three  varieties,  the  essential  structure  is  the  same  through- 
out— a V-shaped  frame  with  an  intervening  section  of  net 
or  wood  upon  which  the  load  is  placed.7  The  structure  sug- 
gests that  this  travois  is  merely  a development  of  the  pack 
and  trailing  tent  poles,  the  more  widely  distributed  method. 

It  may  be  worth  noting  that  dog  packing  in  particular  is 
a concomitant  of  those  hunting  tribes  following  a regular 
migratory  circle.  The  excursions  of  the  Eskimo  to  the 
caribou  ranges,  the  corresponding  shifts  of  the  Canadian 
Indians,  and  the  bison-hunting  expeditions  of  the  Plains 
were  in  pre-Columbian  days  facilitated  by  pack  trains  of 
dogs.  The  intrusion  of  this  method  into  the  inland  salmon 
area  is  consistent  with  the  journeys  then  made  to  gather 


32 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


food,  as  we  have  stated.  On  the  contrary,  topographical 
conditions  in  California  made  large  movements  unnecessary, 
which  may  be  one  reason  why  dog  packing  was  not  adopted. 
The  maize  areas  were  more  independent  and  had  little  use 
for  this  trait.  So  far  as  we  know,  dog  transportation  was 
not  in  vogue  in  the  area  of  intensive  maize  culture.  Mex- 
ico and  the  Pueblo  area  had  no  way  of  land  transport  except 
by  human  carriers,  and  it  is  not  until  Peru  is  reached  that 
the  use  of  the  llama  comes  to  notice.  This  small,  camel-like 
animal  has  little  more  carrying  power  than  a large  dog,  but 
is  particularly  well  adapted  to  mountain  travel.  For  the 
remainder  of  South  America  our  information  is  vague,  but 
so  far  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  dog  or  any  other 
animal  was  used  for  transport. 

All  this  suggests  that  dog  traction  was  intrusive  to  the 
New  World.  When  we  recall  that  in  Europe  and  Asia  the 
dog  and  reindeer  are  used  to  draw  sledges  and  that  the  trait 
is  continuous  from  Scandinavia  to  Greenland,  this  assump- 
tion seems  justified.  Yet,  the  problem  is  far  from  simple. 
The  situation  in  the  Old  World  is  complicated  by  the  pres- 
ence of  horse  culture  which  appears  as  an  early  develop- 
ment and  by  the  domestication  of  the  reindeer.  Either  or 
both  could  have  greatly  stimulated  dog  traction,  but  on  the 
other  hand,  dog  traction  could  have  developed  in  America 
and  spread  into  Siberia.  That  it  came  in  with  the  earliest 
Asiatic  settlers  is  improbable,  since  in  that  case,  though  not 
necessarily,  we  should  expect  to  find  it  surviving  in  south- 
ern South  America.  It  is  also  true  that  the  method  of  hitch- 
ing in  America  is  different  from  that  in  Siberia  and  con- 
tiguous parts  of  Alaska,  and  that  nothing  like  the  travois 
is  found  there. 

Returning  to  our  subject,  we  see  that  the  prevailing  mode 
of  land  transport  in  the  New  World  was  by  human  carrier. 
The  wheel  was  unknown  in  pre-Columbian  times.  The  wild 
fauna  afforded  nothing  like  the  horse  and  ox  of  the  Old 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


33 


34  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

World.  The  caribou  has  been  found  far  less  suitable  for 
domestication  than  the  closely  allied  reindeer,  and  the  bison 
has  proved  itself  rather  too  strenuous.  Yet,  these  are  not 
sufficient  excuses.  The  plain  fact  is  that  the  tribes  in  con- 
tact with  these  animals  were  relatively  primitive.  It  is  fair 
to  assume  that  if  the  bison  and  the  caribou  had  been  avail- 
able to  the  Peruvians,  the  tale  would  be  different. 

Before  the  time  of  Columbus,  no  tribe  had  an  animal 
able  to  carry  a man.  The  dog  packers  walked  in  front  of 
their  trains,  and  even  the  Eskimo  walked  more  than  they 
rode.  The  coming  of  the  Spaniards  made  quick  changes. 
The  mule  and  donkey  were  soon  in  general  use  in  the  area 
of  intense  maize  culture,  though  they  have  not  yet  entirely 
displaced  the  llama  in  Peru.  Wild  cattle  soon  over-ran 
Texas  and  southern  California  and  in  the  Pampas  became 
almost  as  numerous  as  the  bison  in  the  north.  Their  pres- 
ence greatly  modified  the  food  supply,  but  the  most  far- 
reaching  change  resulted  from  the  spread  of  the  horse. 

By  direct  instruction  or  mere  self-initiated  imitation,  the 
natives  of  the  bison  and  guanaco  areas  acquired  horse  cul- 
ture. Unfortunately,  the  history  of  this  cultural  acquisi- 
tion is  lost,  but  we  know  that  the  use  of  the  horse  spread 
much  faster  than  exploration,  so  that  in  many  cases  our 
first  actual  view  of  a tribe  is  as  a horse  user.  The  bison  in 
the  north  and  the  guanaco  in  the  south,  supplanted  later  by 
wild  cattle,  presented  almost  parallel  environments.  In 
Europe  at  the  time  of  Columbus,  the  horse  was  used  almost 
exclusively  by  soldiers  and  aristocrats  as  a riding  animal, 
mules  for  packing  and  bearing  the  common  folk,  while 
carts  and  plows  were  drawn  by  oxen.  This  horse-riding 
complex  was  thus  readily  adaptable  to  the  native  culture  of 
these  two  areas.  At  least  they  seem  to  have  taken  it  over 
as  a whole,  for  saddles  and  other  riding  appliances  are  of  the 
same  European  patterns  both  south  and  north.8 

The  important  differences  between  the  horse  cultures  of 


TRANSPORTATION 


3.5 


the  two  areas  appear  in  the  adaptations  made  to  the  orig- 
inal cultures.  Thus,  in  the  bison  area  the  horse  was  also 
used  with  an  enlarged  dog  travois  and  in  some  cases  seems 
to  have  been  so  used  before  the  art  of  riding  was  acquired. 
The  native  names  of  mysterious-dog,  elk-dog,  etc.,  indicate 
the  apperceptive  attitude  in  the  northern  continent.  In 
South  America  there  was  nothing  like  this,  but  a unique 
weapon  known  as  the  bola  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  mounted 
use.  It  is  believed  that  this  weapon  soon  entirely  displaced 
the  bow  and  quickly  led  to  the  invention  of  the  lasso  and  its 
use  by  all  Spanish  ranchers  north  and  south.  In  the  bison 
area  the  bow  was  essential  for  killing  buffalo  even  from 
horseback.  In  the  Pampas  a long  lance  became  the  other 
chief  weapon,  and  though  this  and  the  lasso  appeared  among 
the  Comanche  on  the  southern  borders  of  the  bison  area, 
they  did  not  prevail  among  the  other  tribes  of  the  north. 

The  use  of  the  horse  spread  somewhat  from  these  two 
continental  centers.  In  the  more  open  parts  of  the  eastern 
maize  area  horses  were  common,  but  nowhere  here  except 
possibly  in  the  Gulf  States  did  they  rise  to  a military  level. 
In  the  greater  part  of  California  they  were  never  used,  but 
in  some  parts  of  the  inland  salmon  area  they  rose  to  the 
importance  attained  in  the  bison  area.  The  greater  part  of 
the  caribou  area  was  too  cold  for  the  horse. 

The  military  and  commercial  necessities  of  Peru  were  met 
by  caravans  of  llamas  but  even  then  human  carriers  were  in 
general  use.  How  the  large  stones  found  in  some  of  the 
ruins  of  that  counfry  were  transported  is  not  known,  but  it 
must  have  been  by  human  traction  alone.  Northward  from 
Ecuador  to  the  Colorado  River  there  is  no  evidence  of  any- 
thing but  human  carriage.  Tribute  was  brought  to  Mexico 
City  by  brigades  of  carriers.  Chairs  and  litters  for  the 
transportation  of  people  were  used  throughout  the  area  of 
intense  culture,  and  to  some  extent  in  the  Gulf  regions  of 
the  United  States.  In  all  areas  there  were  special  appliances 


36  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

for  holding  the  pack  upon  the  back.  While  only  the  lightest 
loads  were  carried  upon  the  head,  in  contrast  to  the  African 
negro  way,  a widespread  method  was  to  support  the  pack 
by  a strap  over  the  forehead,  one  form  of  which  is  now 
known  as  a “tumpline.”  Perhaps  the  most  unique  appliance 
is  the  kia  of  the  Pima  tribes  in  Arizona.9  (Fig.  io.) 

Before  proceeding  with  our  subject  we  may  consider  the 
extent  to  which  animals  were  domesticated  for  food.  The 
only  place  where  a pastoral  culture  was  noted  is  again  in 
Peru.  The  Spaniards  found  the  llama  in  great  domesticated 
herds,  sometimes  reaching  the  thousands.  In  addition  to 
their  use  in  transportation,  they  were  slaughtered  for  their 
flesh  and  sheared  for  their  wool.  The  alpaca  was  also 
herded  for  its  superior  wool.  The  use  of  milk  seems  to 
have  been  unknown  here  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
New  World.  In  fact,  the  Indians  as  a whole  seem  to  be 
as  deeply  prejudiced  against  milk  as  the  Chinese,10  for  it  is 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  our  reservation  tribes  can 
be  led  to  care  for  milk  cows.  The  Spanish  Americans  seem 
to  have  been  influenced  by  this  also,  for  though  great  ranches 
were  maintained  it  was  seldom  that  a single  animal  was 
milked.  This  is  still  shown  in  our  western  states  where 
cattle  raising  was  derived  from  Mexico  and  gives  us  a fine 
illustration  of  culture  diffusion. 

Dogs  were  used  as  foods,  but  not  everywhere.  The 
Spanish  colonists  found  them  in  general  use  in  Mexico,  and 
in  the  West  Indies  the  first  discoverers  found  a small  edible 
dog.  In  North  America,  dog  flesh  was  eaten  in  parts  of 
the  bison  area,  chiefly  among  the  Siouan  tribes.  On  the 
other  hand,  many  tribes,  even  of  the  same  stock,  are  as 
averse  to  its  use  as  are  the  whites.  Since  here  the  local 
distribution  of  the  custom  is  geographical  and  is  associated 
to  some  extent  with  certain  ceremonies,  its  occurrence  may 
be  sporadic,11  for  the  general  tendency  north  of  Mexico  is 
to  regard  the  dog  as  not  proper  food. 


TRANSPORTATION 


37 


Mexico  Chile 

Fig.  io.  Various  Methods  of  Using  the  Tumpline.  Mason,  1896. 1 


38 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Turkeys  were  raised  for  their  feathers  and  eggs  by  the 
Pueblo  and  Mexican  peoples.  According  to  some  authori- 
ties the  latter  domesticated  geese  also.  Turkeys  were  wild 
in  some  parts  of  South  America  in  pre-Columbian  times, 
but  seem  never  to  have  been  tamed.  As  to  the  tribes  of  the 
lower  Mississippi,  we  cannot  be  certain,  for  some  of  them 
got  chickens  so  early  that  the  first  French  settlers  in  Louisi- 
ana found  them  raised  everywhere.12  They  also  had  or- 
chards of  European  fruits  and  raised  hogs,  while  many 
others  ran  wild.  The  natives  of  Cuba,  however,  are  cred- 
ited with  having  domestic  fowls  and  with  stocking  fish 
ponds  when  first  discovered.  The  sheep,  and  to  some 
extent  the  goat,  was  introduced  into  the  great  maize  area 
and  later  developed  the  chief  material  characteristics  of 
the  Navajo  tribe.  The  domestication  of  the  bee  for  its 
honey  has  been  noted  above. 

CANOES  AND  NAVIGATION 

We  come  now  to  the  second  form  of  transportation  and 
the  one  which  is  not  in  any  way  associated  with  the  domes- 
tication of  animals.  It  is  strictly  a mechanical  affair  from 
which  the  modern  science  of  navigation  has  evolved.  Some- 
what in  contrast  to  the  Old  World,  the  New  has  no  great 
insular  regions  except  that  of  the  West  Indies.  The  other 
favorable  island  group  is  on  the  Pacific  Coast  north  of  the 
Columbia  River.  The  only  other  one  in  ice-free  waters 
is  on  the  lower  west  coast  of  South  America.  In  the  region 
of  high  culture  the  coast  line  is  very  regular  and  the  inland 
waters  very  shallow.  South  America  has  one  great  central 
river  system  but  no  lakes.  On  the  other  hand,  North  Amer- 
ica has  a large  river  and  lake  area  with  many  portages.  So 
far  as  can  be  seen,  boats  were  in  use  wherever  advantageous, 
and  from  this  point  of  view  may  be  considered  universal. 
Boats  were  made  according  to  the  materials  at  hand.13  In 
regions  of  large  trees  the  dug-out  was  preferred,  but  in  the 


TRANSPORTATION 


39 


Fig  u.  Types  of  Canoes  Used  in  the  New  World,  a,  The  Bull  Boat, 
Bison  Area;  b,  Eskimo  Kayak;  c,  Eskimo  Woman's  Boat;  d,  Balsa  or 
Reed  Boat;  e,  Birchbark  Canoe;  f,  Fuegian  Bark  Canoe;  g,  North 
Pacific  Coast  Dug-Out;  h,  Amazon  Dug-Out 


40 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


far  North,  the  extreme  South  and  parts  of  the  Amazon 
country  and  the  lake  region  of  North  America,  we  find 
frame  boats  covered  with  skins  or  bark.  The  crudest  are 
the  bark  boats  of  the  Fuegians;  the  finest  are  the  birchbark 
canoes  of  the  O jibway  and  the  kayaks  of  the  Eskimo. 
From  Central  California  to  Chile  we  have  occasional  oc- 
currences of  the  balsa  type,  a raft-like  structure  of  reeds. 

If  we  except  the  Eskimo,  rowlocks  were  not  used,  the 
method  of  propulsion  for  small  boats  being  to  paddle  first 
on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  The  double  paddle  is 
found  only  among  the  Eskimo.  (Yet  it  was  reported  by 
Frezier  in  1717  as  being  used  in  the  insular  region  of  Chile 
with  a boat  combining  some  of  the  features  of  the  balsa  and 
the  kayak.14)  Even  the  great  dug-outs  of  the  North  Pa- 
cific Coast  were  propelled  by  paddles.  The  use  of  sails  is 
somewhat  in  doubt,  but  it  is  asserted  that  the  Spaniards 
found  them  in  Peru  with  balsas  large  enough  to  carry  fifty 
men.  Sails  are  used  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  but  whether 
known  before  the  era  of  Russian  trade  is  not  clear.  The 
Eskimo  use  both  the  rowlock  and  sails,  but  as  these  occur 
on  the  Siberian  coast,  they  are  most  likely  intrusive.  From 
the  same  source  may  have  come  sails  on  the  west  coast. 
Large  canoes  are  mentioned  for  the  West  Indies,  but  no 
sails  are  spoken  of  until  later,  so  that  we  cannot  be  sure  of 
their  original  use  there. 

The  only  boat  with  hull  built  up  of  planks  was  that  of 
the  now  extinct  Santa  Barbara  of  California.  Another 
unique  form  was  the  circular  tub-like  boat  with  a skin-cov- 
ered frame,  used  to  ford  rivers  in  the  widely  separated 
bison  and  guanaco  areas,  and  one  on  the  lower  Colorado 
River  made  of  basketry,  Spanish  name  coritas. 

The  two  regions  in  which  an  approach  was  made  to  a 
sea-faring  culture  were  the  North  Pacific  Coast  and  the 
Antilles.  The  great  war  dug-outs  of  the  former  with  their 
carved  prows  remind  one  of  old  Norse  models.  The  latter 


TRANSPORTATION 


4i 


region  was  overrun  in  succession  by  two  races  of  canoe  men, 
both  apparently  war-like,  the  Arawak  and  the  Carib.  Of 
these  only  the  latter  have  any  just  claim  to  long  voyages. 
In  summer,  the  use  of  boats  by  the  Eskimo  was  a promi- 
nent feature,  especially  in  Alaska,  where  voyages  of  trade 
to  Siberia  seem  to  have  been  made. 

An  interesting  problem  lies  in  the  distribution  of  specific 
variations  in  boats.  Little  has  been  done  in  this  connection, 
except  by  students  of  the  Eskimo,  who,  by  careful  and  de- 
tailed comparison,  have  come  to  definite  conclusions  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  kayak.15  The  most  recent  attempt  to  apply 
the  method  of  distribution  deals  with  the  North  Pacific 
Coast  area,  in  which  a simple  dug-out  now  found  in  north- 
ern California  and  other  marginal  positions,  is  presented  as 
the  older  form  for  the  area  as  a whole.16  These  are  but 
suggestions  of  important  problems  that  await  the  hand  of 
the  investigator. 


1.  Lawson,  i860.  I;  Mason,  1907. 

I. 

2.  Allen,  G.  M.,  1920.  I. 

3.  Wilson,  G.  L.,  ms. 

4.  Boas,  1888.  I;  Stefansson, 

1914.  I;  1919.  I. 

5.  Maximilian,  1843.  I. 

6.  Stefansson,  1914.  I;  Hearne, 

1 795*.  L 

7.  Wissler,  1910.  I. 

8.  Wissler,  1915.  I. 


9.  Russell,  1908.  I. 

10.  Laufer,  1914.  I. 

11.  Wissler,  1910.  I. 

12.  Swanton,  1911.  I. 

13.  Mason,  1901.  I;  Friederici, 

1907.  I. 

14.  Frezier,  1717.  I,  p.  120. 

15.  Boas,  1888.  I ; Thalbitzer,  1914. 
I;  Nelson,  E.  W.,  1899.  L 

16.  Waterman  and  Coffin,  1920.  I. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  TEXTILE  ARTS 

The  subject  now  before  us  is  far  less  intelligible  to  the 
layman  than  any  of  the  preceding,  chiefly  because  it  deals 
with  definite  processes  or  crafts  which  must  be  mastered 
to  be  thoroughly  understood.  This  cannot  be  expected 
even  of  professional  anthropologists,  who  must  necessarily 
be  guided  by  the  statements  of  textile  experts.  With  such 
guidance  we  may,  however,  safely  proceed  to  a general 
view  of  the  subject. 

There  seem  to  be  but  four  classes  of  textile  fiber  in  gen- 
eral use : wool,  bast,  cotton,  and  silk.  Of  these,  aboriginal 
America  used  all  but  the  last.  The  sheep  was  not  found 
here,  but  the  hair  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  goat  was  used 
in  western  Canada  and  also  that  of  a dog  bred  for  that 
purpose.  In  the  bison  area,  particularly  on  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi, buffalo  hair  was  spun.  Mexico  and  Central  Amer- 
ica seem  not  to  have  used  wool  of  any  kind,  no  doubt  be- 
cause it  was  not  available.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
Colombia  and  parts  of  Ecuador.  As  soon,  however,  as 
the  range  of  the  llama,  vicuna  and  alpaca  is  reached,  their 
respective  wools  come  into  use.  Some  archaeological  data 
indicate  that  at  one  time  their  use  extended  far  down  into 
Chile  and  out  into  Argentina. 

Of  bast  fibers  we  have  a respectable  list.  Even  as  far 
north  as  the  caribou  area  willow  bark  was  used.  On  the 
Pacific  coast  of  Canada  cedarbark  fiber,  and  inland  in  the 
salmon  area  sagebrush  bark  were  used,  extending  far  down 
among  the  Shoshonean  tribes  of  the  United  States.  In 
California  a number  of  plants  were  used  for  string  twist- 

42 


THE  TEXTILE  ARTS 


43 


in g.  In  the  bison  area  practically  no  bark  fiber  was  used, 
but  about  the  Great  Lakes  and  eastward,  basswood  or  linn 
bark  was  largely  employed.  Occasionally,  cornhusk  fiber 
was  utilized.  In  southeastern  United  States,  particularly 
on  the  lower  Mississippi,  the  fibers  of  Indian  hemp  and 
pemmenaw  grass  were  extensively  used.  In  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico  we  find  the  maguey,  extending  down  into 
Peru.  In  the  remaining  parts  of  South  America  there  are 
a number  of  bast  fibers  in  use.  Thus,  we  may  conclude  that 
the  use  of  bast  fibers  was  general  except  among  the  highly 
specialized  hunting  peoples  of  the  extreme  north  and 
south. 

Cotton,  though  a vegetable  fiber,  is  a wool  rather  than 
a bast.  Fiber  experts  claim  that  it  is  only  the  cultivated 
varieties  that  can  be  successfully  spun.  Proceeding  from 
north  to  south  we  first  encounter  cotton  in  the  Pueblo  area 
of  the  United  States.  That  it  was  grown  in  what  is  now 
the  great  cotton  belt  of  the  United  States  is  improbable, 
but  from  the  Pueblo  country  down  through  Mexico  to 
Peru,  cotton  was  the  'great  textile  fiber.  The  known  varie- 
ties were  white  and  brown.  In  other  parts  of  South  Amer- 
ica and  the  Antilles  a little  cotton  was  grown,  chiefly  to  be 
used  in  making  hammocks. 

Taking  a general  view  of  the  preceding  facts,  we  note 
that  the  distribution  of  cotton  culture  is  in  the  main  coin- 
cident with  the  regions  of  higher  culture;  at  least,  it  is  not 
found  among  non-agricultural  peoples.  Wool  fibers  ap- 
pear in  three  disconnected  regions:  around  Peru,  British 
Columbia,  and  the  lower  Mississippi.  Bast  fiber,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  practically  universal,  but  shows  decided 
specialization  in  the  several  food  areas. 

One  other  class  of  fiber  not  generally  recognized  by  us  is 
sinew,  or  tendon.  Among  the  Eskimo  and  the  Indians  of 
Canada  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  and  also  holds  a 
high  place  in  the  bison  area,  the  salmon  area,  and  the 


44 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


northern  part  of  the  eastern  maize  area.  In  fact,  wherever 
skin  clothing  is  made,  we  find  sinew  in  use,  even  in  the 
guanaco  area  of  South  America. 

SPINNING 

The  twisting  of  fiber  into  thread  is  the  prerequisite  of 
the  whole  textile  art.  Its  distribution  over  the  world  is  as 
universal  as  the  use  of  fire  and  its  origin  probably  fully  as 
remote.  Though  there  is  but  one  way  to  do  it,  twist  the 
fibers  one  upon  the  other,  the  appliances  vary  considerably. 
The  primitive  way,  and  no  doubt  the  first  historically,  is 
solely  by  hand.  A more  mechanical  way  is  to  give  the 
twist  by  a spindle  bearing  a whorl. 

Our  first  problem  is  to  distinguish  the  different  methods 
of  spinning  and  state  their  respective  distributions.  In 
this  we  must  proceed  with  hesitancy  because  of  inadequate 
data,  but  since  very  little  native  spinning  survives  there 
is  no  ground  for  expecting  important  additions  to  our  field 
observations.  The  subject  is,  therefore,  ready  for  such 
comparative  study  as  can  be  made.  We  have  neither  the 
time  nor  the  special  knowledge  to  do  this  now,  but  will 
discuss  the  most  obvious  points. 

One  of  the  most  direct  approaches  is  the  distribution  of 
the  spindle  whorl.  Its  known  occurrence  in  North  Amer- 
ica is  in  the  highlands  from  Panama  to  the  Colorado  River. 
Then  with  a break  in  continuity  we  find  it  in  British 
Columbia  and  on  the  adjoining  coast.  The  only  other 
place  where  there  is  even  a suspicion  of  its  use  is  the 
lower  Mississippi.  This  conjecture  is  based  upon  the  bare 
mention  of  an  improvised  affair,  a wad  of  clay  upon  a 
stick,  by  an  early  writer.1 

Archaeological  data  are  on  the  whole  consistent  with  the 
foregoing  facts,  from  which  their  general  finality  may  be 
assumed.  Pre-Columbian  sites  yielding  undoubted  spindle 
whorls  must  be  our  safest  criteria,  because  we  lack  definite 


SPINNING 


45 


knowledge  as  to  the  exact  state  of  spinning  before  white 
contact,  and  it  is  conceivable  that  the  use  of  the  European 
whorl  could  have  been  introduced  quickly,  as  we  have  al- 
ready noted  in  the  case  of  the  horse.  Peru  presents  a puz- 
zling case,  for  notwithstanding  the  high  development  of  the 
art,  the  early  historical  data  indicate  the  absence  of  a true 
whorl,2  and  objects  of  this  nature  are  seldom  found  in 
excavating.  However,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Andean 
region,  pottery  objects  resembling  whorls  are  frequent. 
We  may  suspect  therefore  that  our  data  from  Peru  are 
incomplete.  In  other  parts  of  South  America  they  are 
rare,  but  the  modern  natives  use  them.  So,  in  general,  if  we 
try  to  correlate  the  distribution  of  the  whorl  with  that  for 
fibers,  we  note  that  it  is  Wanting  in  the  distinctively  bast 
and  sinew  areas.  Where  cotton,  wool  or  both  together 
are  spun,  we  find  the  whorl,  unless  Peru  should  prove  to 
be  an  exception. 

Outside  of  the  whorl  area  we  have  defined,  bast  and 
sinew  thread  are  given  the  final  twist  by  rolling  under  the 
palm  of  the  hand,  usually  upon  the  bare  thigh  or  calf  of 
the  leg.  (The  peculiar  slit  skirt  of  the  Algonkin  and  Iro- 
quois is  regarded  as  a hand  spinner’s  costume  by  Parker.3) 
A twisting  appliance  has,  however,  been  noted  for  the 
Eskimo.4 

But  to  return  to  our  subject.  The  methods  of  preparing 
fibers  for  spinning  differ  with  the  materials,  but  after  they 
are  separated  and  cleaned,  all  must  be  carded,  or  extended 
in  the  same  direction.  No  aboriginal  appliance  for  this  has 
come  to  light,  but  with  the  introduction  of  the  sheep,  the 
European  card  was  also  introduced  and  has  been  in  use 
ever  since.  The  difference  between  hand  and  whorl-twist- 
ing is  merely  a matter  of  machinery.  In  either  case,  the 
native  first  arranges  the  roving  by  hand.  The  only  twist- 
ing machine  in  use  for  true  textile  fibers  was  the  whorled 
or  rolled  spindle,  but  there  was  nothing  like  the  wheel 
of  the  Old  World.  Further,  we  are  told  that  it  is  only 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


46 

bast  fiber  that  can  be  twisted  by  rolling  under  the  palm  upon 
the  thigh.  Neither  cotton  nor  wool  can  be  economically 
handled  that  way  because  of  the  shortness  and  other  char- 
acteristics of  the  fiber.  In  this  case,  the  fiber  must  be 
made  into  a roving  and  then  twisted  from  each  end  under 
the  necessary  draft,  or  tension.  Thus,  in  the  New  World, 


Fig.  12.  Ancient  Mexican  and  Egyptian  Drawings  of  Spinners.  The 
Erst  shows  the  prevailing  New  World  method.  There  is  some  doubt  as 
to  what  part  of  the  process  is  represented  in  the  Egyptian  Egure,  but  the 
draft,  or  tension,  is  supplied  according  to  the  Old  World  method 


we  find  that  wherever  cotton  or  wool  are  spun,  a stick  or 
spindle  is  used  to  facilitate  the  twist  an'd  to  wind  the 
finished  thread.  In  Europe,  spinning  was  by  the  whorl 
and  distaff  method;  the  spindle,  being  provided  with  a 
whorl  or  fly-wheel,  was  twirled  and  dropped,  its  weight 
providing  the  draft,  and  the  momentum  of  the  whorl  the 
twist.  There  is  yet  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  method 
was  practised  in  the  New  World  before  its  discovery,  the 
draft  here  being  given  by  a pull  of  the  hands,  the  spindle 
resting  in  a bowl  on  the  ground,  or  simply  held  in  the  hands. 
The  New  World  whorl  is,  therefore,  not  a true  whorl, 


NETTING  47 

and  was  often  dispensed  with,  as  seems  to  have  been  the 
case  in  parts  of  Peru. 

The  uniformity  of  the  aboriginal  method  of  spinning 
cotton  is  clear  when  we  compare  suc'h  studies  as  Roth’s  5 
for  the  less  cultured  peoples  of  South  America  with  the 
processes  used  in  Old  Peru.  On  this  account  we  are  scarcely 
left  any  other  alternative  than  to  conclude  that  the  cotton 
complex  of  the  entire  New  World  is  essentially  one,  as  is 
the  maize  complex  (p.  21),  and  that  it  was  likewise  dif- 
fused from  a single  center.  Just  what  may  be  the  relation 
between  the  wool  and  cotton  complexes  is  not  clear,  for  we 
have  the  salmon  area  peoples  spinning  wool  and  not  cotton, 
and  again  the  buffalo-hair  spinning  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
As  to  how  the  latter  was  spun,  we  have  no  precise  data, 
but  in  the  salmon  area  a form  of  the  characteristic  New 
World  spindle  method  was  used.6  Cotton  could  not  be 
raised  there,  obviously. 

NETTING 

The  making  of  string  readily  suggests  nets,  a form  of 
textile  almost  as  world-wide  as  fiber  twisting.  Accompany- 
ing the  art  are  two  implements:  the  shuttle  and  the  mesh 
gauge.  Unfortunately,  no  careful  study  of  the  net  tech- 
nique and  the  distribution  of  the  implements  is  available, 
but  one  who  reads  Rau’s  searching  paper  on  modes  of  fish- 
ing 7 will  see  at  a glance  the  importance  of  the  problem. 
First,  the  manner  of  tying  the  meshes  of  the  net  is  very 
much  the  same  everywhere.  This  may  be  because  the 
trait  is  as  old  and  fundamental  as  the  firedrill  or  merely 
due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  but  one  good  way  by  which 
a net  can  be  formed.  In  the  absence  of  investigation, 
speculation  on  this  point  is  useless,  yet  we  seem  to  have 
here  an  unusually  promising  subject  for  weighing  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  the  independent  origin  and  diffusion  theories 
of  culture. 


48 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


In  the  New  World,  fish  nets  seem  to  have  been  in  use, 
wherever  possible,  from  Cape  Horn  to  Alaska  and  their 
antiquity  is  vouched  for  by  the  excavation  of  notched  peb- 
bles used  as  sinkers.  Stefansson,8  however,  secured  archaeo- 
logical data  from  the  northernmost  coast  of  Alaska  and 
western  Canada,  indicating  that  nets  were  of  relatively  re- 
cent introduction  among  the  Eskimo  of  those  districts.  In 
view  of  the  data  supporting  their  antiquity  elsewhere  and 
their  present  universal  distribution,  this  appears  as  a local- 
ized exception. 

The  netting  shuttle  and  mesh  gauge  are  found  chiefly  in 
North  America  where  they  have  a continuous  distribution 
with  Siberia  and  adjacent  parts  of  the  Old  World.  The 
precise  forms  of  eastern  Siberia  are  found  in  Alaska,  but 
as  we  move  southward  along  the  coast  toward  California, 
the  forms  show  more  variation,  as  also  eastward  over  the 
Great  Lake  area.  So  far,  such  implements  have  not  been 
reported  from  South  America,  where  nets  are  frequently 
made  of  cotton  and  woven  upon  a frame,  as  is  the  case 
with  hammocks.  The  most  recent  contribution  to  the  sub- 
ject is  Moore’s  theory  that  the  so-called  bannerstone  found 
east  of  the  Mississippi  is  a mesh  gauge; 9 however,  this  in- 
terpretation is  questionable. 

Those  closely  allied  techniques  of  lace  making  and  tatting 
are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  great  cotton-using  area,  but 
have  not  been  studied  in  detail. 

BASKETRY 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  people  exist  who  do  not  understand 
the  art  of  intertwining  twigs  or  other  elements;  likewise 
most  of  them  show  some  conception  of  basketry.  Even 
such  an  extreme  marginal  group  as  the  Tasmanians  made 
some  progress  with  it,  and  in  the  New  World  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  find  groups  of  tribes  entirely  innocent  of  the  art. 
About  the  only  localities  without  basketry  are  among  the 


BASKETRY  49 

eastern  Eskimo,  and  parts  of  the  bison  and  guanaco  areas, 
all  specialists  in  skin  work. 

The  subject  has  received  a great  deal  of  attention  and 


Fig.  13.  Basketry:  Straight  Weave;  Close  and  Open  Twine ; and  Coil 


that  great  master  of  material  culture,  O.  T.  Mason,  has 
left  us  an  excellent  treatise.10  Our  museums  have  extensive 
collections,  while  those  of  private  students  are  equally  rich; 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


5° 

there  is  also  an  abundant  literature.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  the  subject  presents  many  unsolved  problems. 

Baskets  can  be  readily  classified  as  woven  or  coiled 
(sewed).  The  basic  concepts  for  these  different  classes 
seem  to  have  nothing  in  common,  from  which  it  is  fair  to 
assume  that  they  have  separate  histories.  Under  these 
Heads  many  techniques  may  be  distinguished.11 

From  our  point  of  view,  coiled  basketry  reaches  its 
highest  development  in  California,  where  the  Porno  are 
generally  given  the  first  rank.  ^Esthetically  considered, 
these  baskets  are  probably  the  finest  in  the  whole  world. 
From  this  center,  coiling  extends  to  the  interior  highlands 
among  the  Shoshoni-speaking  tribes,  thence  northward 
through  the  inland  salmon  area  and  the  Dene  portion  of 
Canada.  Even  the  Eskimo  of  Alaska  use  it,  and  also  the 
natives  of  eastern  Siberia.  To  the  east,  it  stops  in  the 
plains,  but  extends  southward  among  the  Pima,  Navajo, 
Apache,  and  other  non-pueblo-dwelling  tribes.  Of  the 
Pueblo  peoples  only  one  section  of  the  Hopi  uses  the 
process  and  elsewhere  there  are  but  the  crudest  of  at- 
tempts. In  Mexico  the  technique  disappears  and  does  not 
come  to  notice  again  until  we  reach  Patagonia.  While  in 
California  a few  of  the  coast  tribes  were  coilers,  the  main 
distribution  is  inland,  for  beginning  with  the  upper  part  of 
California,  the  entire  coast  belt  including  the  Aleutian  chain 
is  exclusively  devoted  to  woven  basketry.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  North  America  coiling  is  rare,  a few  of  the  north- 
ern Algonkin  tribes  following  the  lead  of  their  Dene 
neighbors. 

Notwithstanding  the  high  development  in  the  coil  area, 
it  is  itself  a part  of  the  great  western  twined  area.  (Twine 
is  a form  of  woven  basketry.)  The  Porno,  for  example, 
also  make  fine  baskets  of  this  weave,  which  can  be  said 
of  most  coil  workers.  In  other  words,  coiled  basketry 
seems  to  be  a smaller  area  overlying  a larger  one  of  twined 


BASKETRY 


51 


hi 


Coiled 
Woven 

A Wood  Splint 
B Cane  Splint 
C Wicker 


Fig.  14.  General  Distribution  of  Types  of  Basketry 


52 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


basketry.  The  Pueblo  peoples  do  not  make  it,  but  do  pro- 
duce a kind  of  wickerwork  like  the  tribes  of  northern  Mex- 
ico, while  their  non-Pueblo  neighbors,  the  Apache,  Wal- 
apai,  etc.,  make  twined  as  well  as  coiled  baskets. 

Almost  all  of  the  twine  and  coil  basket  weavers  are  stone 
boilers,  that  is,  they  cook  in  baskets  by  dropping  hot  stones 
into  their  contents.  Close  fine  twining  and  coiling  is  thus  a 
necessity,  for  cooking  baskets  must  be  water-tight.  In  the 
pottery  region  of  the  Pueblos  and  southward,  basketry  is 
open  and  coarser.  This  undoubtedly  accounts  for  the  very 
high  development  of  the  art  in  California  and  northward. 

Returning  to  the  concentric  distribution  of  the  coil  and 
twine  technique,  one  must  wonder  which  is  the  older.  Some 
of  the  Dene  coiled  globular  baskets  are  almost  identical 
with  a Chinese  style,  but  this  is  more  likely  due  to  similar 
materials,  for  the  intervening  Siberian  styles  are  more  like 
those  of  the  Eskimo.  Thus  coil  seems  to  center  in  Cali- 
fornia and  twine  on  the  coast  of  the  north,  thus  indicat- 
ing their  most  probable  centers  of  dispersion.  We  must, 
however,  allow  for  more  complex  conditions,  since  archaeo- 
logical remains  in  certain  cliff-houses  indicate  a high  de- 
velopment of  coil  in  prehistoric  times.  The  studies  of  Kroe- 
ber  12  and  Barrett,13  as  to  the  direction  of  the  spiral  coil 
in  making  the  basket,  suggest  that  central  California  and 
Arizona  are  of  one  type,  while  southern  California  (the 
Shoshoni-speaking  tribes)  and  the  interior  as  well  as  on 
northward,  are  of  another.  The  meaning  of  this  is  not 
quite  clear,  but  can  be  most  readily  explained  as  due  to 
differentiation  from  two  centers  of  influence.  Hence,  the 
chronological  relation  of  coil  and  twine  basketry  remains 
a problem  for  the  future. 

The  central  portion  of  the  bison  area  marks  a hiatus  be- 
tween the  basketry  of  the  east  and  the  west.  Down  the 
Mississippi  and  south  from  the  Great  Lakes,  across  the 
Antilles  and  on  into  the  manioc  or  Amazon  area  of  South 


CLOTH 


53 

America,  basketry  has  one  common  characteristic  in  that 
it  is  made  of  flat  or  splint-like  materials.  Basketry  of  this 
sort  is  also  found  in  the  Andean  region,  but  seems  not  to 
have  been  the  prevailing  style.  The  material  is  usually 
cane,  which  is  probably  responsible  for  the  observed  dis- 
tribution. North  of  the  Ohio  River  and  in  New  England 
where  suitable  cane  was  not  to  be  had,  we  find  wood 
splints  in  use.  They  are  made  from  the  easily  separated 
annual  layers  of  certain  trees.  It  seems  a reasonable  as- 
sumption that  a historical  connection  exists  between  those 
two  forms,  and  since  basketry  of  cane  is  very  widely  dis- 
tributed and  the  materials  more  readily  prepared,  we  may 
suspect  this  to  be  the  parent  form.14 

In  this  connection  birchbark  vessels  may  be  noted.  They 
are  an  associate  of  the  birchbark  canoe  from  Nova  Scotia 
to  northern  Russia.15  At  no  place  in  America,  however, 
do  they  entirely  displace  woven  or  coil  techniques. 

Though  closely  analogous  to  splint  basketry,  matting  does 
not  always  accompany  it.  Yet  there  are  few  peoples  out- 
side of  the  great  hunting  areas  who  do  not  use  mats  in 
some  form.  In  the  main  we  have  two  kinds:  those  woven 
of  flat  flexible  materials,  and  those  made  by  binding  to- 
gether long  reeds  or  even  twigs. 

CLOTH 

We  can  make  one  clear  distinction  between  basketry  and 
cloth,  for  the  latter  is  formed  by  the  weaving  of  spun  or 
twisted  materials.  It  is  therefore  made  of  string,  or  yarn. 
We  have  noted  that  some  knowledge  of  thread-making  is 
universal  among  mankind,  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the 
weaving  of  cloth.  Such  weaving  in  the  New  World  may 
be  comprehended  under  two  designations:  loom  weaving 
and  finger  weaving,  or  upward  weaving  and  downward 
weaving.  In  the  loom,  the  weaver  begins  at  the  bottom 
and  builds  the  fabric  upward,  driving  the  weft  home  with 


54 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


a downward  stroke;  in  the  other,  the  warp  threads  are  hung 
loosely  from  a horizontal  support  and  the  fabric  built 
from  the  top,  the  weft  being  pushed  upward  into  place.  In 


Fig.  15.  Ojibway  Weaving  Frame,  Showing  the  Suspended  Warp 
and  Method  of  Twining  in  the  Weft.  Weaving  Proceeds  Downward 


loom  weaving,  a sword  or  batten  is  used  to  beat  down 
the  weft  and  also  as  a shedding  device,  though  an  addi- 
tional shedding  device  may  be  used.  In  downward  weav- 
ing there  are  neither  battens  nor  shedding  devices,  the  fingers 


Fig.  16.  A Navajo  Weaver 

A Typical  New  World  Loom.  The  Weaving  Proceeds  Upward 
Goddard,  1913.  I 


CLOTH  '55 

taking  their  place,  though  a bodkin  or  other  pointed  instru- 
ment may  be  used  to  force  the  weft  into  position. 

Loom  weaving  begins  with  the  Pueblo  peoples  and  ex- 
tends southward  over  the  entire  area  of  intense  maize  cul- 
ture. Finger  weaving  is  found  in  the  salmon  area,  the 
Chilkat  blanket 18  being  the  most  unique  example,  and 
covers  the  entire  eastern  maize  area.  The  data  for  the 
Antilles  are  meager,  but  since  the  natives  there  made  some 
use  of  cotton,  it  is  safe  to  assume  a loom.  In  South  Amer- 
ica the  entire  manioc  area  seems  to  have  been  influenced 
by  the  Andean  region  in  that  looms  of  some  kind  were 
in  use.  Cotton  was  raised  in  many  parts  for  making  ham- 
mocks, which  were  woven  on  a kind  of  loom.17  In  fact,  the 
loom  is  a correlated  part  of  the  spindle-spinning  complex, 
which  we  have  closely  associated  with  cotton.  The  chances 
are,  therefore,  that  this  whole  loom  complex  spread  as  a 
unit. 

The  distribution  of  downward  weaving  will  repay  further 
study.  Thus  in  the  Aleutian  Islands  flexible  baskets  are 
woven  suspended,  and  the  O jibway  and  other  Central  Al- 
gonkin  tribes  wove  flexible  wallets  and  soft  bags  in  the 
same  way.  This,  with  the  Chilkat  blanket,  gives  us  a broad 
sweep  across  the  continent.  In  the  main,  too,  this  region 
is  also  the  area  of  spinning  without  a spindle. 

Turning  aside  for  a moment,  we  find  a peculiar  type  of 
sagebrush  bark  weaving  in  the  plateaus  among  the  Shos- 
honi  and  Salish  in  which  parallel  twisted  strands  are  joined 
by  widely  separated  rows  of  twined  thread  in  pairs.18 
Among  the  Kwakiutl  and  neighboring  tribes,  cedarbark  is 
used  in  the  same  way.  A similar  technique  for  bags  and 
mats  is  found  around  the  Great  Lakes  and  eastward.  A 
few  specimens  from  the  Salish  suggest  that  wild  goat  wool 
was  sometimes  treated  in  a similar  fashion. 

It  appears,  then,  that  north  of  the  area  of  intense  maize 
culture  we  have  in  general  a basketry-like  basis  for  weaving, 


56  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  17 . Distribution  of  Weaving 


CLOTH 


57 

and  that  when  weaving  is  attempted  with  twisted  elements, 
it  is  with  suspended  warp  as  for  baskets  and  mats.  Con- 
sistent with  this  is  the  rarity  of  the  spindle. 

Our  problem  is  not  simple,  however,  because  among  the 
modern  Salish  we  find  a frame  for  weaving  coarse  wool 
blankets.19  This  may  have  been  introduced  by  whites,  but 
as  the  batten  and  shedding  devices  are  absent  and  the 
weave  is  downward,  we  still  have  one  of  the  weaving  char- 
acteristics of  the  area.  Very  widely  spread  is  the  weaving 
of  blankets  from  twisted  strips  of  rabbit  fur,  a method 
which  has  a continuous  distribution  from  Yucatan  north- 
ward in  Mexico  and  thence  over  the  great  plateau  area 
of  the  United  States  to  Canada  where  it  traverses  about 
the  whole  of  the  caribou  area  and  reaches  far  down  into 
the  eastern  maize  area.  This  blanket  is  usually  woven  on  a 
frame,  but  also  without  a batten  or  shedding  device.  The 
similarities  between  the  Salish  goat  wool  blanket  and  the 
rabbitskin  blanket  are  so  striking  that  one  must  suspect 
some  reactionary  influence.  Returning  to  our  subject,  it  is 
clear  that  the  loom  and  upward  weaving  developed  in  the 
area  of  intensive  maize  culture.  Also  it  appears  that  the 
spindle  tends  to  associate  itself  with  cotton  and  wool  rather 
than  with  either  of  the  two  main  types  of  weaving. 

Space  forbids  going  into  details  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
product.  From  early  accounts  it  appears  that  there  was  a 
remarkably  high  development  in  the  Andean  region.  It 
seems  that  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest  the  textile 
art  was  the  chief  social  interest  and  that  the  whole  gov- 
ernmental machinery  was  directed  toward  the  encourage- 
ment of  its  production.  Thus  taxes,  fines  and  tributes  were 
levied  in  fine  cloth.  As  to  the  qualities,  we  have  not  only 
the  testimony  of  early  observers,  but  in  the  desert  burial 
grounds  of  Peru  we  have  immense  storehouses  of  pre- 
historic cloth  preserved  completely  in  the  original  forms 
and  colors.  Recent  studies  of  museum  collections  by  a tex- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


58 

tile  expert 20  have  shown  that  the  fineness  of  weave  exceeds 
that  of  any  other  known  part  of  the  world.  As  to  forms 
of  weave,  we  find  the  same  techniques  as  in  the  Old  World, 
even  to  the  pile  and  gauze.  Outside  of  America,  the  known 
weaves  can  mostly  be  traced  to  southern  Asia;  hence,  it 
is  peculiar  that  we  should  find  two  disconnected  world 
centers  of  textiles  and  that  each  should  develop  the  same 


Fig.  18.  Cape  of  Sagebrush  Bark,  Showing  a Simple  Open  Weave. 
Teit,  1900. 1 


techniques.  As  to  the  weaves  and  qualities  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  we  are  far  less  certain,  since  nature  has 
not  preserved  samples  for  us,  but  from  historical  state- 
ments we  infer  that  they  also  were  of  a high  order.  In 
southwestern  United  States  we  have  an  environment  analo- 
gous to  that  of  Peru,  but  which  has  less  perfectly  preserved 
examples  of  textiles  from  its  cliff-houses.  This,  however, 
is  the  extreme  margin  of  the  area  where,  consequently, 
we  cannot  expect  very  high  development.  Our  museums 
contain  a few  specimens,  but  they  have  not  been  studied 
by  a textile  expert.  The  surviving  Pueblos  of  Arizona  and 


FEATHER-WORK 


59 


New  Mexico  and  the  Navajo  still  weave,  but  to  what  ex- 
tent they  have  been  influenced  by  white  contact  we  are  not 
certain.  For  a long  time  they  have  used  the  wool  of  the 
domestic  sheep  almost  exclusively,  and  though  their  work 
is  highly  prized  by  collectors,  it  is  very  coarse  when  com- 
pared with  Peruvian  types.  Of  the  cotton  cloth  in  the 
manioc  area  we  have  very  little  data.  The  early  accounts 
of  the  southern  half  of  the  eastern  maize  area  indicate  a 
fair  degree  of  textile  development,21  for  while  the  informa- 
tion available  is  not  specific,  the  statements  of  early  ob- 
servers lead  us  to  suspect  that  tapestry  and  double  cloth 
were  known,  and  that  while  the  typical  suspended,  or 
downward,  weaving  was  used,  some  tribes  used  a true 
loom,  the  two-barred  loom,  and  a loom  with  three  cross 
rods  for  twilling  buffalo-hair  cord.  Woven  feather-work 
was  common,  and  there  is  mention  of  painted  cloth.  Per- 
haps the  most  distinctive  textile  of  this  area  was  buffalo- 
hair  weaving,  this  art  extending  far  up  into  the  Mississippi 
Valley.22  The  Chilkat  blanket  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
is  quite  coarse  in  weave,  though  somewhat  finer  than  the 
fabrics  of  the  immediate  interior.  The  remainder  of  the 
continent,  however,  cannot  boast  anything  that  rises  to 
the  true  cloth  standard. 

FEATHER-WORK 

This  £eems  a convenient  place  to  note  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  developments  of  New  World  technique,  viz., 
feather-work.  The  center  of  the  art  seems  to  have  been  in 
Mexico,  where  highly  decorative  schemes  were  carried  out 
by  overlaying  cloth  with  feathers.  A few  specimens  have 
been  preserved  for  us,  but  our  real  insight  into  this  trait- 
complex  is  from  historical  accounts,  particularly  Sahagun. 
Cloaks  and  mantles  for  distinguished  persons,  headdresses 
for  war  leaders,  and  other  badges  of  distinction  were  in 
feather  mosaics.23  The  less  distinguished  persons  some- 


6o 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


times  wore  mantles  of  turkey  feathers,  an  art  extending  to 
the  Pueblo  tribes  of  the  United  States,  thence  eastward 
through  the  Gulf  States  and  northward  as  far  as  the  Hud- 
son River.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  feather  mosaics  reach  a 
high  state  of  development  in  California  basketry.  Feather 
insignia  and  headdresses  were  conspicuous  among  some  of 
the  warlike  tribes  of  the  bison  area. 

Turning  southward  from  Mexico,  we  find  a fair  develop- 
ment of  feather  mosaics  in  Peru;24  then  out  into  the 
Amazon  country  where  true  mosaic  work  is  rare  we  find 
one  of  the  most  characteristic  traits  to  be  brilliant  feather 
head  decorations.  Thus,  taking  Mexico  as  the  center,  we 
see  a radiation  of  feather-work  into  both  continents.  We 
may  also  be  reminded  of  the  very  striking  parallel  in 
Hawaii  and  the  possibility  of  an  historical  connection  be- 
tween the  two.  On  the  other  hand,  the  technique  by  which 
the  feathers  are  made  fast  to  the  fabric  is  fundamentally 
different  from  that  used  in  Peru. 


clothing 


To  describe  the  different  styles  of  clothing  for  the  vari- 
ous groups  of  natives  is  impossible  in  a few  pages,  but 
some  of  the  general  characteristics  may  be  noted.  The 
most  completely  clothed  are  the  Eskimo  and  the  caribou 
hunters  o f Canada.  These  people  cut  out  and  fit  pieces 
of  prepared  skin  together  somewhat  like  a modern  tailor. 
Moreover,  their  patterns  are  equally  intricate  and  their 
skill  in  fitting  gives  distinct  local  styles.  The  southern 
limits  of  tailored  skin  garments  are  practically  those  of  the 
caribou  area,  but  in  modified  form  they  extend  down  into 
the  most  nomadic  part  of  the  bison  area.  Also,  in  some 
of  the  inland  districts  of  the  salmon  area  variants  appear. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  Pacific  Coast  plane  from 
the  Tlingit  of  Alaska  to  Lower  California  was  occupied 
by  bare-footed,  scantily  clothed  peoples,  among  whom  the 


CLOTHING  61 


Fig.  19.  General  Types  of  Costume  and  Their  Distribution 


62 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


true  coat  and  trousers  were  unknown.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  eastern  maize  area,  the  costume  consisted  of 
little  more  than  a breech  or  loin  cloth.  When  needed,  a 
robe  or  kind  of  loosely  fitted  cape  was  put  on.  Notwith- 
standing its  ill  adaptation  to  winter  climate,  this  form  of 
costume  extended  into  New  England,  where,  while  leggings 
and  moccasins  protected  the  feet,  the  trunk  was  covered 
by  a robe  so  arranged  as  to  leave  one  arm  free.  This  was 
covered  by  a muff-like  sleeve.25  In  the  bison  area,  as  far 
north  as  Dakota,  where  the  winters  are  severe,  the  bison 
robe  was  the  only  upper  garment.  It  is  quite  clear,  there- 
fore, that  tailored  skin  clothing  is  an  associate  of  the  caribou 
or  reindeer  area,  and  that  the  only  definite  intrusion  it 
makes  is  in  the  western  part  of  the  bison  area  and  the 
contiguous  parts  of  the  salmon  area. 

In  the  great  weaving  area  of  Mexico  and  the  Andes, 
clothing  is  of  woven  cloth.  The  peculiarity  of  such  cloth- 
ing is  that  it  was  never  cut  and  fitted,  but  each  garment 
was  worn  in  the  form  in  which  it  came  from  the  loom. 
Thus  a poncho,  or  shirt,  is  rectangular,  with  one  slit  for 
the  neck  and  two  for  the  arms.  In  some  cases  very  short 
sleeves  were  added,  formed  by  folding  a rectangular  piece 
of  cloth  and  sewing.  Thus,  in  the  textile  area  we  find  the 
tailor’s  art  at  its  lowest.  That  this  is  not  entirely  a matter 
of  environment,  is  suggested  by  the  weakness  of  tailoring 
among  the  skin-wearing  tribes  of  Patagonia,  who  do  little 
more  than  muffle  themselves  in  a robe.  Originally  this  robe 
was  worn  over  one  shoulder  as  in  eastern  United  States. 

When  we  look  to  the  Old  World  we  find  a similar  dis- 
tribution. In  Siberia  and  northern  Europe,  we  have  tailor- 
ing of  reindeer  skins.  Across  southern  Asia  and  around 
the  Mediterranean  is  the  great  historical  textile  area  from 
which  all  our  own  fine  textiles  seem  to  have  been  derived. 
As  we  proceed  southward  into  Africa  and  Australia  we 
meet  with  peoples  who  wear  skins,  but  who  do  not  cut  them 


CLOTHING 


63 


Fig.  20.  Forms  of  Footwear 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


64 


into  garments.  While  there  is  a climatic  factor  here, 
there  are  still  other  influences  to  be  considered.  Europeans 
and  their  New  World  offspring  are  the  only  peoples  except 
the  Chinese  who  specialize  in  the  cutting  and  fitting  of 
cloth.  History  shows  that  tailored  garments  came  into 
Europe  relatively  late,  whereas  in  China  they  seem  to 
be  very  ancient.  Now  the  Chinese  and  Europeans  were  in 
contact  with  the  reindeer  hunters  of  the  north  and  when 
we  have  such  continuity  for  the  distribution  of  a trait  we 
usually  consider  it  a case  of  diffusion  from  one  center.26 
The  continuity  of  the  trait  in  Siberia  and  America  is  also 
clear.  We  see,  then,  that  the  whole  tailoring  art  of  the 
world  has  a continuous  geographical  distribution  and  centers 
around  skin  garments  rather  than  those  of  cloth. 

It  has  been  noted  that  certain  peculiar  styles  of  garment 
in  the  bison  area  were  due  to  the  natural  form  of  the  skins.27 
This  seems  to  be  the  natural  consequence  with  a people 
who,  lacking  tailoring  traditions,  worked  out  a more  com- 
plete costume  of  skins.  We  have  noted  that  in  the  case  of 
textiles  the  rectangular  form  necessitated  by  the  technique 
of  loom  weaving,  together  with  the  lack  of  the  tailoring 
idea,  gave  a characteristic  form  to  the  woven  garments. 
In  the  bison  area  we  find  a skin  poncho  which  follows 
so  closely  the  main  form  of  the  textile  poncho  to  the 
south  that  it  is  difficult  to  deny  a historical  relation,  though, 
as  stated  above,  the  similarity  is  disguised  by  the  peculiar 
contour  of  the  edges  of  the  skin. 

There  are  many  other  interesting  problems  in  costume, 
but  we  have  no  space  for  their  discussion.  For  example,  a 
study  of  footgear  is  highly  suggestive.  Thus  we  find  in 
both  the  Old  and  New  World  that  the  sandal  is  a correla- 
tive of  textile  clothing.  In  the  bison  area,  moccasins  have 
hard  soles  in  contrast  to  those  of  the  forest  regions,  which, 
considering  the  geographical  relations,  suggests  the  intrusion 
of  the  sandal  idea,  though  denied  by  Hatt.28  Going  bare- 


CLOTHING 


65 

foot  is  peculiarly  prevalent  on  the  west  coast  of  the  salmon 
area  and  is  the  rule  in  the  southern  half  of  the  eastern 
maize  area  and  thence  through  the  Antilles  and  down  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Andes.  In  Patagonia  a skin  shoe  again 
appears,  but  the  Fuegians  tend  to  go  barefoot. 


1.  Adair,  1775.  I. 

2.  Crawford,  1915.  I. 

3.  Parker,  cited  by  Wissler,  1915. 
II. 

4.  Nelson,  E.  W.,  1899.  I. 

5.  Roth,  1910.  I. 

6.  Kissell,  1916.  II. 

7.  Rau,  1884.  I. 

8.  Stefansson,  1914.  I;  1919.  I. 

9.  Moore,  1916.  I. 

10.  Mason,  1904.  I. 

11.  Kissell,  1916.  I. 

12.  Kroeber,  1908.  I. 

13.  Barrett,  1908.  I. 

14.  Speck,  1920.  I. 

15.  Boas  in  Teit,  1909.  I. 


16.  Emmons,  1907.  I. 

17.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I- 

18.  Teit,  1900.  I. 

19.  Teit,  1909.  I. 

20.  Crawford,  1915.  I;  1916.  I. 

21.  Du  Pratz,  1758.  I;  Lewis,  T. 
H.,  (Editor),  1907.  I;  Hun- 
ter, 1823.  I ; Adair,  1775.  I ; 
Kalm,  1772.  I. 

22.  Bushnell,  1909.  I. 

23.  Seler,  1904.  I. 

24.  Mead,  1907.  I. 

25.  Willoughby,  1905.  I. 

26.  Hatt,  1916.  I. 

27.  Wissler,  1915.  II. 

28.  Hatt,  1916.  I. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CERAMIC  ARTS 

The  first  point  to  demand  our  attention  is  the  distribu- 
tion of  pottery  in  general.  As  nearly  as  can  be  told,  at  the 
time  of  discovery,  North  America  had  but  one  large  area 
in  which  no  pottery  was  made.  If  we  draw  a line  from 
Ottawa  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  another  to 
Edmonton,  and  then  one  from  Edmonton  to  Los  Angeles, 
we  shall  have,  in  the  rough,  the  northern  boundary  to  pot- 
tery making.  There  seems  to  have  been  a narrow  strip 
down  into  the  bison  area  that  should  be  excepted.  This 
extended  down  through  the  country  of  the  Arapaho,  Chey- 
enne, Kiowa,  and  Comanche.  On  the  other  hand,  certain 
early  information  for  the  O jibway,  Cree,  and  Blackfoot 
westward  from  Winnipeg,  indicates  that  they  made  pot- 
tery; but  this  about  exhausts  the  exceptions.  Practically 
the  whole  of  the  Pacific  belt  and  the  great  sweep  of  the 
caribou  area  is  without  pottery,  but  the  Eskimo  of  Alaska 
and  eastward  at  least  as  far  as  Coronation  Gulf  made  it. 
Archaeological  evidence  does  not  change  the  boundary; 
hence,  we  may  infer  that  the  distribution  of  pottery  was 
still  in  progress  at  the  opening  of  the  period  of  discovery 
and  that  it  was  distributed  from  the  South.  In  Siberia 
we  find  a pottery  somewhat  like  that  of  the  Eskimo,  which 
suggests  that  in  this  case  the  trait  is  intrusive  from  Asia. 
Yet,  we  must  not  overlook  the  possibility  of  contact  with 
North  American  potters  around  Hudson  Bay,  a region 
whose  archaeology  is  absolutely  unknown.  The  improba- 
bility of  this  arises  from  the  absence  of  the  trait  from  the 
greater  part  of  the  caribou-hunting  peoples,  its  tendency 

66 


American  Museum  of  Natural  History  Photograph 


CERAMICS 


67 


Fig.  22.  Distribution  of  Pottery 


68 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


to  fail  the  most  typical  bison  hunters,  and  that  its  encroach- 
ment in  each  case  resembles  the  fringe  of  an  adjoining 
area.  We  see  that  its  extension  out  into  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta  is  coincident  with  the  distribution  of  Algonkian- 
speaking  tribes : the  Blackfoot,  Cree,  and  O jibway.  In  the 
bison  area  the  encroachments  are  chiefly  among  the  Siouan- 
speaking  tribes.  Then,  if  we  recall  the  limits  of  maize 
culture,  we  note  a rather  close  agreement  between  the  dis- 
tributions for  the  two  traits.  As  we  know  that  maize 
came  up  from  the  South,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
pottery  came  by  the  same  road.  As  to  their  time  relations, 
we  cannot  be  so  sure,  for  though  pottery  has  gone  a little 
farther  than  maize  culture,  there  is  a climatic  limit  to  the 
latter. 

Over  the  Antilles,  through  Mexico,  and  on  into  South 
America  was  the  great  pottery  region.  In  some  places 
archaeologists  have  uncovered  deposits  of  sherds  many  feet 
thick,  suggesting  an  intensive  pursuit  of  the  art  similar  to 
that  for  textiles  (p.  57).  Outside  of  the  Andean  area  pot- 
tery is  less  intense.  It  has  been  reported  from  sections 
of  the  manioc  area  throughout,  from  which  we  may  infer 
that  its  distribution  there  is  approximately  continuous.  In 
the  South,  somewhere  near  the  30 0 latitude,  it  disappears 
altogether,  so  that  about  the  only  part  of  the  southern  con- 
tinent that  did  not  make  some  pretense  of  pottery  was 
lower  Patagonia  and  a portion  of  the  Brazilian  highlands. 

PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE 

The  process  of  manufacture  varied  according  to  locality, 
but  one  general  characteristic  applies  to  all,  no  wheel  was 
used  in  the  New  World.  It  is  true  that  large  vessels  were 
often  built  up  on  shallow  baskets  and  turned  slowly  to  bring 
the  successive  parts  within  easy  reach,  but  this  does  not 
involve  the  principle  of  the*  wheel.  Even  the  Lacandone 
(Guatemala)  method  of  supporting  the  pot  upon  a block 


CERAMICS 


69 

which  is  turned  by  the  feet,  is  not  a true  wheel,  for  the 
turning  is  merely  for  the  sake  of  bringing  all  parts  of  the 
surface  to  the  potter’s  hand.1 

As  a rule,  all  the  New  World  potters  used  the  coil 
method;  i.e.,  slender  rods  of  clay  were  rolled  out  to  con- 
venient lengths  and  the  vessel  built  up  spirally.  In  some 
vessels  from  the  Pueblo  area  the  original  traces  of  the  coils 
were  retained  as  decorative  motives,  but  as  a rule,  the  sur- 
faces were  afterwards  scraped  smooth  and  to  the  requisite 
thinness.  So  far  as  we  have  data,  the  coil  method  was  used 
in  all  of  the  Amazon  area  of  South  America  and  in  south- 
western and  eastern  United  States,  except  in  the  general 
area  about  the  Great  Lakes.  In  this  northern  section,  we 
have  the  Mandan-Hidatsa  type,  fully  described  by  G.  L. 

A 6 

Fig.  23.  Lower  Mississippi  Pottery.  Holmes,  1903. 1 

Wilson,2  in  which  the  vessel  is  worked  out  from  a single 
block  of  clay,  then  beaten  into  shape  with  a paddle,  fired, 
rubbed  with  grease,  and  coated  with  a solution  of  boiled 
maize.  Less  complete,  but  still  adequate  data  from  the 
Blackfoot,  Menomini,  and  Pawnee  indicate  that  in  the  upper 
Mississippi  area  we  had  a generalized  type  of  this  process 
in  contrast  to  the  coil  method.  Eastward  in  the  northern 
Algonkin  area  our  data  are  not  so  good,  but  it  is  generally 
believed  that  the  coil  process  prevailed,  except  in  the  far- 
thest north  where  the  pottery  was  very  crude. 

This  upper  Mississippi,  or  Mandan-Hidatsa  type  has  a 
striking  resemblance  to  Alaska-Siberian  pottery.  The 
studies  of  Jochelson  and  Bogoras  3 show  one  general  method 
for  Alaska  and  eastern  Siberia,  a method  closely  paralleling 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


70 

the  Mandan-Hidatsa  type.  The  Blackfoot,  Menomini,  Cree, 
and  some  of  the  adjacent  tribes  fired  their  pots  by  putting 
them  over  the  fire,  as  in  use,  after  first  soaking  them  with 
fat.  This  is  also  the  usual  method  among  the  Chukchee 
and  Alaskan  Eskimo.  The  archaeological  specimens  col- 


Fig.  24.  South  Atlantic  Pottery.  Holmes,  1903. 1 


lected  by  Stefansson  at  Cape  Parry  also  show  this  crude 
firing.  We  thus  have  two  regions  with  similar  pottery 
traits,  which  as  previously  stated,  may,  after  all,  be  con- 
nected west  of  Hudson  Bay.  If  so,  we  may  speak  of  this 
northern  pottery  area  as  a possible  intrusion  from  Asia. 

In  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  the  Andean  region  the 
coil  method  seems  to  have  been  in  use,  but  as  to  its  relative 
position  we  cannot  be  sure.  Traces  of  molding  are  seen  in 
prehistoric  pottery  from  Central  America  and  Peru,  where 


Mounds 
Holmes,  1903. 1 


the  potter’s  art  ceased  to  be  mere  woman’s  work  and  rose 
to  the  level  of  a profession.  On  a priori  grounds  the  coil 
method  seems  ill  adapted  to  the  fine  modeling  found  here, 
yet  it  is  clear  that  it  is  the  fundamental  method  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  pottery  area.  That  it  is  the  most 


CERAMICS 


7i 

primitive  way  may  be  doubted,  since  we  find  the  crude 
pottery  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  the  trans-Bering  region 
simply  worked  out  from  a mass.  Such  questions,  how- 
ever, must  await  chronological  studies  of  the  ceramic  art. 

The  methods  of  tempering  clay  with  sand,  gravel,  pul- 
verized stone,  or  shell,  used  in  the  New  World,  are  not 
essentially  different  from  those  employed  in  the  Old.  The 
use  of  “slips,”  or  thin  washes  of  such  clays  as  will  give 
pleasing  color  tones  was  understood  in  most  places,  the 
exceptions  being  the  southern  coast  of  Brazil  and  Patagonia, 
the  greater  part  of  eastern  United  States,  the  upper  Mis- 


Fig.  26.  Pottery  from  Southwestern  United  States 


sissippi,  and  Alaska.  In  short,  the  use  of  “slips”  is  found 
wherever  pottery  rises  above  the  mere  utilitarian  level. 

The  principle  of  glaze,  highly  characteristic  of  later  Old 
World  pottery,  was  not  understood  in  the  New.  Yet,  in 
the  Pueblo  area,  a true  glaze  was  used  for  decoration,  giv- 
ing us  what  is  known  as  the  glazed  type.4  Since  this  glaze 
does  not  cover  the  entire  surface,  its  use  could  not  have 
been  to  make  vessels  water-tight.  Glazed  ware  has  also 
been  reported  from  Totonac  sites  near  Vera  Cruz  and  also 
from  the  vicinity  of  Coban,  Guatemala. 

However,  when  we  turn  to  pottery  paints  the  New  World 
takes  high  rank.  A brief  visit  to  a museum  will  make 
this  point  clear.  The  only  place  where  aboriginal  pottery 
of  the  higher  type  survived  the  Conquest  is  in  southwestern 
United  States,  and  it  is  from  here  that  most  of  our  know- 
ledge of  processes  comes.  Here  we  find  the  paints  of  both 
vegetable  and  mineral  origin,  the  reds  and  yellows  from 


72  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

iron,  the  blacks  from  juices  of  plants.  By  proper  firing,  the 
desired  colors  could  be  made  permanent.  On  the  whole, 
aboriginal  clay  work  was  almost  exclusively  limited  to  orna- 


Mexican  Pottery 

mental  and  useful  vessels,  though  in  a few  localities  in  the 
United  States  the  stone  pipe  gave  way  to  one  of  clay  and 
in  certain  parts  of  Mexico  true  bricks  were  made. 

POTTERY  FORMS 

Our  consideration  of  pottery  forms  may  properly  begin 
with  the  United  States.5  On  the  whole,  wherever  pottery 
is  extensively  manufactured,  there  is  considerable  variety 
of  form,  but  still  the  preference  is  given  to  two  or  three 
forms  which  may  be  taken  as  the  distinguishing  character- 
istics of  the  several  areas.  For  example,  in  the  Missis- 


Fig.  27. 


Fig.  28.  Central  American  Pottery.  MacCurdy,  1911. 1 


sippi  Valley  the  most  distinctive  forms  are  the  bottle-like 
vases  and  effigy  bowls.  Among  the  latter  are  some  re- 
markable human  heads.6 

In  the  South  Atlantic  region,  the  bowl  is  the  prevailing 
form  and  one  type  approaches  the  olla  of  the  Southwest. 
In  the  North  Atlantic  area  is  the  well-known  pointed-bot- 


CERAMICS 


73 

tomed  jar  of  the  Algonkin,  and  inland  the  highly  original 
Iroquois  square-topped  pot.  Finally,  in  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi, we  find  a simple,  globular,  narrow-rimmed  pot.  The 
greatest  variety  of  form  is  in  the  lower  Mississippi  area, 
where  ceramics  rises  to  the  level  of  a true  art. 

Proceeding  southward,  the  next  great  pottery  area  is 
southwestern  United  States,  where  the  leading  forms  are 
the  shallow  bowl  and  the  bulging  olla. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  complexity  of  ceramic  culture 
in  Mexico  and  Central  America,  there  is  at  least  one  char- 


Fig.  29.  Peruvian  Pottery 


acteristic  form  throughout,  viz.,  a support  of  three  long 
legs.  There  is  also  a tendency  toward  flat  bottoms  and 
cylindrical  bodies  in  vessels  not  supported  by  legs. 

In  Colombia  and  Ecuador,  hourglass  shapes  abound, 
while  in  Peru,  we  find  the  pointed  jar,  the  double  jar  of 
which  “whistling  jars”  are  an  example,  and  the  effigy  vase, 
the  latter  reminding  one  of  the  lower  Mississippi  group. 
In  southern  and  eastern  Brazil,  the  most  distinctive  shape 
is  the  bulging  burial  urn,  in  some  cases  with  a hood.  Fre- 
quently, these  urns  take  an  hourglass  form  which  is  also 
the  leading  form  for  household  pottery  north  of  the  Ama- 
zon. In  addition,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Amazon 
pottery  area  we  find  an  extraordinarily  large  tub-shaped 
vessel,  and  in  eastern  Brazil  a local  development  of  effigy 
jars  quite  parallel  to  that  of  the  lower  Mississippi.7 

An  interesting  theoretical  problem  lies  in  these  pottery 
forms.  It  appears  that  almost  everywhere  the  cooking  pot 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


74 

tends  toward  the  oval  or  hemispherical  form  and  that  the 
regional  distinctions  we  have  drawn  are  in  vessels  for  other 
purposes,  often  largely  ornamental.  Thus,  when  we  move 
northward  from  the  lower  Mississippi,  pottery  becomes 
strictly  a vessel  for  cooking,  or  specifically  utilitarian.  In 
the  North  Atlantic  area,  pottery  has  a rival  in  soapstone, 
but  vessels  of  this  material  have  a form  of  their  own  which 
seems  to  have  something  in  common  with  the  cooking  kettle 


Calchaqui  Brazil  Brazil  Guiana 

Fig.  30.  Pottery  Forms  from  Eastern  South  America.  Joyce,  1912. 1.; 


Von  den  Steinen,  1897.  I.;  Im  Thurn,  1883. 1 

of  the  eastern  Eskimo.  Some  pottery  vessels  collected  by 
Stefansson  and  Anderson  between  Hudson  Bay  and  the 
Mackenzie  River  have  corners  quite  like  Eskimo  soapstone 
kettles,  but  the  better  type  of  Alaskan  ware  has  a shape  like 
that  common  in  Aleutian  baskets;  yet,  if  there  is  a funda- 
mental ceramic  container  concept  in  the  New  World,  it  is 
that  of  the  globular  cooking  pot.  The  strong  claims  for 
the  recognition  of  this  form  appear  when  we  examine  the 
animal-like  vessels  of  Central  America  and  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi in  which  we  usually  see  the  globular  part  with  orna- 
mental appendages. 

POTTERY  DECORATION 

Decorations  of  pottery  fall  into  two  groups,  those  pro- 
duced by  secondary  modeling  and  true  designs.  The  former 
is  a prominent  feature  in  Peru,  Colombia,  Central  America, 
the  lower  Mississippi,  and  eastern  Brazil.  Elsewhere  it  is 


CERAMICS 


7.5 

relatively  infrequent,  the  preference  being  given  to  painted 
or  incised  designs.  The  secondary  modeling  of  the  so- 
called  Chiriqui  pottery  from  Panama  has  been  carefully 
studied  by  MaeCurdy8  who  finds  that  practically  all  con- 
sists of  efforts  to  represent  the  armadillo  and  the  alligator. 
Von  den  Steinen  has  given  an  illuminating  discussion  of 
animal  forms  in  eastern  Brazil,  in  some  cases  so  reduced 
by  conventionalization  as  to  appear  symbolic.9  A some- 
what similar  study  has  been  made  of  lower  Mississippi 
pottery,10  but  without  the  help  of  the  makers,  the  specimens 
being  prehistoric.  In  Colombia  we  find  frog  and  monkey- 
like creatures  represented  as  peeping  over  the  rims  of  jars, 
but  it  is  in  Peru  that  ceramic  modeling  reaches  its  highest 
level.  Here,  we  not  only  have  animals  and  natural  objects 
faithfully  represented,  but  human  heads  so  executed  as  to 
suggest  their  being  portrait  jars. 

Painted  and  incised  ceramic  decorations  tend  to  be  geo- 
metric and  often  closely  parallel  textile  designs,  to  be  dis- 
cussed under  the  next  head.  We  shall,  therefore,  defer 
their  discussion  until  the  whole  subject  of  design  has  been 
considered. 


1.  Tozzer,  1907.  I. 

2.  Wilson,  G.  L.,  Am.  Mus.  Mss. 

3.  Bogoras,  1904.  I;  Jochelson, 
1908.  I. 

4.  Kidder,  M.  A.  and  A.  V.,  1917. 
I ; Nelson,  N.  C.,  1916.  I. 

5.  Holmes,  1903.  I. 


6.  Moore,  1911.  I. 

7.  Von  den  Steinen,  1897.  I. 

8.  MaeCurdy,  1911.  I. 

9.  Von  den  Steinen,  1897,  I,  p. 
264. 

10.  Holmes,  1903.  I. 


CHAPTER  V 
DECORATIVE  DESIGNS 

In  the  preceding  discussions  we  have  ignored  the  most 
interesting  and  suggestive  sides  of  textiles  and  ceramics, 
namely,  their  decorations.  Wherever  such  products  occur 
we  almost  always  find  them  richly  ornamented  by  designs 
in  color  which  constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  decorative 
art  of  their  makers.  Taking  the  New  World  decorative 
designs  as  a whole,  we  are  impressed  with  their  extreme 
geometric  unrepresentative  character  and  the  rarity  of  realis- 
tic art.  A stroll  through  a large  museum  reveals  an  as- 
tonishing complexity  of  geometrical  design  in  contrast  to 
similar  collections  from  the  Old  World.  Nowhere  else  do 
we  find  anything  in  basketry  approaching  the  finest  basketry 
decorations  of  the  Pacific  Coast  or  in  pottery  that  of  the 
Andean  region.  From  the  standpoint  of  aesthetic  values, 
the  ancient  Old  World  products  may  be  rated  as  superior, 
but  the  range  and  richness  of  geometric  design  in  the  New 
World  cannot  be  denied. 

Anthropologists  have  given  the  subject  of  decorative  de- 
sign a great  deal  of  attention,  and  we  consequently  have  for 
the  tribes  of  the  northern  continent  a body  of  special  re- 
search literature  not  equalled  by  that  for  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  Quite  recently,  the  use  of  ceramic  design  as  an 
index  to  chronology  and  relationship  in  extinct  cultures  has 
appeared  as  a special  method  in  archaeological  research  and 
promises  a considerable  development  in  the  near  future.1 
Unfortunately,  no  such  progress  has  been  made  in  the  art 
of  the  southern  continent  or  even  for  the  Antilles  and  Mex- 

76 


DECORATIVE  DESIGNS 


17 

ico.  Our  first  task,  therefore,  is  to  consider  rather  fully 
the  status  of  the  North  American  design  problem  and  then 
to  view  the  southern  continent  from  that  horizon. 

TEXTILE  DESIGNS 

If  we  compare  the  decorations  upon  a representative 
series  of  baskets  from  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  with 
those  upon  a series  of  pottery  vessels  from  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico,  there  seems  to  be  a definite  similarity.  Closer 
inspection  suggests  that  this  is  true  because  certain  combina- 
tions of  angles  and  checker  patterns  are  common  to  both. 
The  chief  point  of  difference  is  that  curved  lines  and  realis- 
tic figures  are  rare  in  basketry,  whereas  they  occur  with 
somewhat  greater  frequency  on  the  pottery  in  question. 
Again,  if  we  examine  the  blankets  of  the  Navajo,  we  find 
a series  of  designs  strikingly  like  those  upon  the  basket 
series.  Since  we  know  that  the  Navajo  weaving  is  of 
recent  origin,  we  infer  that  many  of  their  blanket  designs 
were  borrowed  from  basketry  and  because  of  the  much 
greater  distribution  of  the  latter,  that  the  pottery  designs 
were  also  greatly  influenced  thereby. 

An  important  point  has  been  made  that  the  technique  of 
weaving  itself  places  certain  form  limitations  upon  designs 
which  tend  to  make  them  similar,  irrespective  of  the  wishes 
of  the  artist.2  In  all  weaving  we  have  a geometrical  rela- 
tion between  the  warp  and  weft  elements  since  they  have  a 
right-angle  relation  to  each  other  and,  in  the  main,  can 
build  up  a design  by  equal  rectangular  units  only.  In  bas- 
ketry these  units  are  usually  so  large  that  diagonals  can  only 
be  run  as  steps  and  even  in  cloth  it  is  difficult  to  escape  this 
effect.  These  stepped  designs  and  diagonal  rows  of  small 
squares  constitute  one  of  the  prevailing  characteristics  of 
textile  art,  -so  that  in  our  discussions  of  design  distribution 
we  must  make  full  allowance  for  similarities  due  to  the  limi- 
tations imposed  by  the  weaving  technique. 


78  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

For  example,  we  find  a certain  type  of  designs  for  cane 
baskets  in  Louisiana,  and  passing  over  to  northern  South 
America,3  we  find  baskets  of  similar  materials  with  designs 


F 

Fig.  31.  Types  of  Textile  Design,  a,  Checker;  b,  Twill;  c,  A Typical 
Pattern  from  Cane  Basketry;  d,  Design  from  the  Penn  Treaty  Wampum 
Belt;  e,  Bird  Figure  from  Peruvian  Cloth;  f.  Design  on  a Peruvian 
Basket.  Holmes 3 1888. 1 

almost  identical.  In  this  case  we  have  other  facts  that  sug- 
gest this  similarity  to  be  but  another  example  of  culture  dif- 
fusion. Yet,  we  can  find  baskets  in  some  of  the  Pacific 


Fig.  32.  Types  of  Prehistoric  Peruvian  Textile  Designs 


DECORATIVE  DESIGNS 


79 


Islands  which  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  cane  bas- 
kets of  the  New  World,  if  we  consider  the  designs  only, 
and  in  this  case  there  is  no  good  reason  for  expecting  dif- 
fusion. 

The  limitations  set  by  weaving  are  more  clearly  shown 
when  realistic  figures  are  attempted  (Fig..  31).  Painted  pot- 
tery, on  the  other  hand,  imposes  no  such  restrictions 'm  the 
matter  of  design,  but  leaves  the  hand  free  to  make  curves 
of  any  form.  Accordingly,  when  we  find  the  aboriginal 
potters  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  using  a great  array  of 
checked  and  angular  patterns,  with  stepped  lines,  we  must 
necessarily  refer  them  to  textiles. 

Another  significant  point  is  that  the  extensive  use  of  real- 
istic figures  in  cloth  occurs  only  where  weaving  is  highly 
developed,  as  in  Peru  and  Mexico.  When  we  examine 
examples  of  such  decorations  as  are  preserved  in  our  mu- 
seum collections,  we  note  that  even  so,  these  figures  are 
greatly  distorted  to  make  their  contours  coincide  with  the 
fixed  lines  of  weaving.  Further,  it  is  also  in  these  same 
localities  that  pottery  decorations  become  more  realistic, 
suggesting  that  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  de- 
grees of  complexity  in  the  culture  of  the  weavers.  It  may 
be  that  the  simple  designs  upon  New  England  (Algonkin) 
pottery  are. about  all  that  can  be  expected  from  such  a crude 
cultural  setting.  Yet,  we  must  conclude  that  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  their  historical  developments  in  the  New  World 
both  textiles  and  pottery  were  decorated  with  geometric 
designs  and  that  the  use  of  realistic  figures  came  later. 
This  is  somewhat  at  variance  with  a current  theory  of  art 
genesis  which  considers  geometric  art  to  be  mere  conven- 
tionalizations of  earlier  realistic  figures.  We  have  already 
noted  how  the  weaving  technique  itself  conventionalized  all 
figures  and  have  recognized  other  factors  producing  con- 
ventional effects,  but  the  cultural  conditions  in  the  New 
World  do  not  seem  consistent  with  the  above  theory  of  de- 


8o 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


sign  origin.  The  total  distribution  of  the  several  types  of 
design  points  clearly  to  a development  from  the  simplest 
geometrical  textile  designs  to  the  realistic  textile  figures. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  DESIGNS 

Like  many  other  cultural  traits,  designs  tend  to  fall  into 
geographical  groups.  While  the  boundaries  to  such  areas 
cannot  always  be  drawn  with  great  precision,  their  centers 
can  be  located  without  much  difficulty.  We  have  noted  that 
California  seemed  to  be  the  center  of  the  highest  attain- 
ments in  basket-making,  and  it  so  happens  that  this  is  also 
the  great  center  for  basketry  designs.  As  indicated  on  the 
map  (Fig.  14)  the  basketry  area  includes  the  great  plateau 
region  extending  from  well  up  into  British  Columbia  south- 
ward to  the  non-Pueblo  tribes  of  Arizona  and  New  Mex- 
ico. Here  we  saw  that  two  kinds  of  technique  were  in  use, 
coil  and  woven  basketry,  usually  twined  weaving,  and  that 
while  tribes  tend  to  specialize  now  in  one  of  these  and  then 
in  another,  this  variation  seems  to  have  little  effect  upon  the 
designs,  for  the  same  designs  occur  upon  both.  The  coil 
technique  offers  great  freedom  in  design  because  of  its  simi- 
larity to  embroidery;  but  this  is  perhaps,  compensated  by 
the  trick  of  overlaying  twined  strands  with  thin  strips  of 
colored  materials  to  produce  the  designs.  In  the  inland 
salmon  area,  coil  baskets  are  decorated  by  imbrication,  which 
is  also  an  ingenious  overlay,  and  for  that  reason  was  most 
likely  derived  from  twine  overlay.  The  basketry  of  the 
Tlingit  gives  a different  type  of  decoration,  chiefly  in  the 
use  of  bands  of  overlay,  but  these  are  a secondary  part  of 
the  art  of  the  North  Pacific  area  to  which  we  shall  return 
later. 

Another  important  art  center  is  to  be  found  among  the 
Pueblo  peoples  of  the  Southwest,  where  we  see  an  exuberant 
development  of  pottery  designs  and  blanket  decorations.4 
Archaeological  collections  5 show  that,  if  anything,  there  has 


DESIGN  AREA'S 


81 


been  a deterioration  in  pottery  decoration  during  the  his- 
toric period  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  seems  to  have  been 
a marked  development  in  blanket  designs.  We  are  clear 


4,  Plains,  or  Bison  Center;  5,  Eastern  Center — subtypes  a and  b; 

6,  Southeastern,  or  Gulf  Center 

that  Navajo  textiles  have  passed  through  a development  of 
this  kind,  for  the  old  specimens  are  almost  entirely  striped.6 
While  Navajo  weaving  is  supposed  to  be  of  recent  origin, 
it  is  obvious  that  the  designs  were  not  copied  from  Euro- 


82 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


pean  techniques,  but  from  aboriginal  American  models. 
Further,  we  have  some  textile  remains  from  cliff  ruins  in 
which  striped  decorations  are  the  rule  and  the  same  tendency 
is  shown  in  Hopi  and  Zuni  weaving.  A few  exceptional 
specimens  have  come  to  notice  that  bear  designs  of  another 
character,  particularly  those  from  the  Gila  River;7  but 
these  are  toward  the  south  and  may  therefore  be  intrusive. 

However,  our  most  important  problem  in  this  area  is  to 
be  found  in  pottery  decoration.  If  we  consider  modern 
Pueblo  pottery  only,  we  find  that  its  designs  are  largely 
geometric  in  appearance,  although  a strong  realistic  tend- 
ency is  also  plainly  evident.  Even  many  of  the  highly  con- 
ventionalized geometric  forms  prove  to(  be  symbols  of 
mountains,  clouds,  thunder,  rain,  etc.,  while  among  them 
appear  unmistakable  drawings  of  plants  and  animals.  Yet, 
taking  modern  pottery  as  a whole,  the  geometrical  char- 
acter of  the  designs  seems  to  predominate.  In  the  discus- 
sions of  Southwestern  chronology,  we  shall  see  that  the 
more  widely  diffused  and  older  type  of  pottery  is  decidedly 
geometric  in  character.  Thus,  two  of  the  favorite  design 
concepts  are  the  simple  checker  textile  pattern  and  the  step 
or  “terrace.”  Again,  if  we  look  almost  anywhere  in  the 
Pueblo  area  we  shall  find  these  patterns  occurring.  They 
have  so  sure  a place  in  textile  art  and  lend  themselves  so 
much  less  readily  to  freehand  work  that  a non-pottery  origin 
is  suggested.  Quite  recently  a localized  tendency  toward 
realistic  pottery  painting  has  come  to  notice  in  southwestern 
New  Mexico,  but  even  here  we  also  meet  with  the  familiar 
geometric  designs.8 

Adjoining  the  southwest  and  east  of  the  great  basketry 
area  is  the  bison  area,  which  is  weak  in  basketry  and  cloth, 
but  still  has  a highly  developed  embroidery  of  beads  and 
quills  in  which  the  designs  are  geometric  and  manifest  many 
of  the  characteristics  of  textile  designs.9  In  fact,  the  way 
in  which  beads  and  quills  are  handled  in  this  area  requires 


DESIGN  AREA'S 


83 


Fig.  34.  Beaded  and  Painted  Designs  of  the  Plains  Indians , 
Kroeber , 1902. 1 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


84 

that  designs  be  built  up  by  accretions  of  small  rectangular 
surface  contours,  which  is  just  what  we  have  in  weaving. 
If  our  general  principle  of  technique  limitations  holds,  we 
should  expect  to  find  geometric  forms  prevailing.  This  is 
exactly  what  we  do  find  (Fig.  34). 

Even  among  the  basket-making  Apache  of  the  Southwest, 
we  find  objects  of  skin  decorated  with  designs  upon  covered 
surfaces  of  beads.  This  is  clearly  an  intrusion  from  the 
bison  area  because  it  is  only  now  and  then  that  we  find 
identity  between  the  designs  on  Apache  baskets  and  objects 
of  skin,  each  having  a style  of  its  own.  On  the  other  hand, 
these  beaded  designs  are  quite  like  those  found  far  out 
into  the  buffalo  country.  These  buffalo  hunters  did  not 
decorate  pottery,  in  fact,  some  did  not  even  make  it,  but 
they  did  paint  rawhide  objects  and,  strange  to  say,  even  this 
freehand  work  was  in  geometric  designs  not  at  all  unlike 
those  in  beads  and  quills.  While  the  reason  for  this  is  not 
entirely  clear,  we  note  that  all  the  beadwork  is  by  women, 
who  also  paint  the  geometric  designs,  whereas  the  men  who 
paint  upon  robes,  tents,  etc.,  use  realistic  figures.  This 
suggests  that  the  difference  may  be  merely  a matter  of  social 
convention. 

An  important  problem  is  the  origin  of  Plains  art  as  a 
whole.  Though  we  have  shown  that  bead  technique  im- 
poses textile  limits  upon  the  decorations,  the  fact  that  the 
Plains  area  is  in  direct  contact  with  basketry-making  peoples 
and  the  weavers  of  the  Southwest  reveals  the  possibility  of 
diffusion.  While  this,  like  most  other  problems,  is  one  for 
the  future,  there  are  several  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  art  of  the  bison,  or  Plains  area,  is  in  the  main  an  inde- 
pendent development.  In  the  first  place,  its  center  is  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  area,  while  it  is  weakest  on  the  margins. 
In  its  great  western  Shoshoni  fringe  we  find  a condition 
not  unlike  that  of  the  Apache  in  that  beadwork  and  basketry 
exist  side  by  side  but  with  different  design  systems. 


DESIGN  AREAS 


S5 

There  is,  however,  a more  direct  approach  to  the  problem 
by  the  analytic  comparison  of  designs.  Kroeber  10  has  care- 
fully analyzed  the  designs  of  California  baskets  and  Plains 
beadwork  in  search  of  the  prevalent  design  units.  When 
these  are  found,  they  prove  to  be,  in  the  main,  very  simple 
geometric  forms  and  though  many  can  be  very  closely 
matched  for  the  two  areas,  their  very  simplicity,  taken  with 
the  principle  of  textile  limitation,  lessens  the  probability 
of  their  common  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  take 
more  complex  design  wholes  we  find  very  little  correspon- 
dence between  the  two  areas,  for  each  has  a number  of 
highly  unique  designs  not  found  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world.  Hence,  even  this  method  tends  to  assert  inde- 
pendence of  origin. 


M 4J 

O O O $ # $ f 


Fig.  36.  Design  Elements  Used  in  Plains  Indian  Beadwork. 
Kroeber,  1908.  II 


To  the  north  and  east  of  the  Plains  area  we  have  another 
art  area  in  which  neither  ceramics  nor  true  textiles  play 
an  important  part.  This  region  comprises  the  greater  part 
of  the  caribou  area  and  the  northern  half  of  the  eastern 
maize  area,  a region  in  which,  although  the  decorations  are 
again  by  beads  and  quills,  there  is  yet  a distinct  type  of 
design.  Here  we  have  exactly  the  opposite  of  the  preced- 
ing, for  instead  of  textile-like  designs  we  find  curved  figures 
and  more  or  less  realistic,  plant-like  forms.  The  cause  for 
this  very  extraordinary  contrast  is  an  important  problem. 


86 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


When  we  try  to  locate  the  geographic  center  of  this  art, 
it  proves  somewhat  elusive,  but  closer  inspection  reveals 
two  sub-centers,  one  in  eastern  Canada,  the  other  near  Lake 
Superior.  The  eastern  sub-type  has  been  brought  to  notice 
by  Speck11  under  the  designation  double-curve  art  (Fig. 
37).  These  curved  designs,  while  obviously  resembling 
vines  and  leaves,  are  still  somewhat  less  realistic  than  bead- 
work  designs  of  the  western  sub-type,  perhaps  because  of 
their  greater  conventionalization.  Though  these  curved  de- 
signs do  occur  in  beads  and  quill,  they  are  more  frequently  j 
found  incised  in  birchbark  or  painted  on  skins.  The  best- 
known  examples  of  the  latter  are  the  Naskapi  coats  in  mu- 
seum collections.  These  observations  suggest  that  this  east- 
ern sub-center  was  originally  dominated  by  freehand  work 
upon  skins  and  bark  from  which  the  somewhat  similar 
beaded  designs  were  most  likely  copied.  No  cloth  is  made  j 
here  and  practically  no  woven  decorated  basketry,  but  we 
find  some  woven  wampum  belts  and  some  bands  of  quill  and 
moose-hair  interwoven  with  bast  fiber,  in  which  the  designs  j 
tend  to  be  geometric.  So  far,  we  do  not  recall  a single  exam-  j 
pie  of  the  double-curve  art  in  these  truly  woven  objects. 
All  this  suggests  that  we  have  here  at  the  eastern  sub- 
center a type  of  design  which  developed  from  freehand 
drawing  upon  skins  and  birchbark. 

When  we  turn  to  the  western  sub-type  we  find  practically 
no  painting  upon  skins  or  decorative  drawing  upon  bark  and 
the  beaded  decorations  correspondingly  more  numerous  and 
decidedly  floral.  From  this  sub-center  come  those  admir- 
ably beaded  flowers  seen  in  our  museum  collections.  Speck 12 
has  included  the  more  conventionalized  examples  of  these  j 
under  his  double-curve  motive,  but  all  they  have  in  com- 
mon seems  to  arise  from  their  universal  floral  foundations. 
While  there  is  little  in  the  way  of  skin  painting  accompany- 
ing the  western  subtype  of  beading,  there  is  a far  greater 
textile  development,  especially  at  the  sub-center.  The  weav- 


DESIGN  AREAS 


87 

in g of  bands  containing  quills  or  moose-hair  is  a feature  in 
the  Dene  region.  From  the  Ojibway  of  Wisconsin  south- 
ward, we  find  a rather  high  development  of  bag  weaving 
and  many  forms  of  mats.  The  designs  upon  quill  bands 
and  mats  are  almost  without  exception  geometric,  while 
bags  show  two  forms — purely  textile  geometric  and  realistic 
animal  figures.  Drawing  and  sketching  upon  birchbark  was 
developed  almost  to  the  point  of  writing  and  in  that  sense 
was  not  decorative.  It  was,  however,  entirely  pictographic. 
Wooden  objects  were  not  infrequently  adorned  with  incised 
curved  designs  somewhat  like  the  floral  effects  in  beads. 
The  chief  differences,  therefore,  between  the  two  sub- 
centers are  the  disturbing  textile  developments  in  the  west, 
with  a decided  realistic  tendency  in  beadwork,  while  in  the 
east  freehand  double-curve  floral  figures  prevailed.  The 
similarities  are  in  the  more  fundamental  character — a pre- 
dominatingly freehand  floral  decoration.  In  the  preceding 
areas  we  found  textiles  or  embroidery  techniques  in  the 
majority,  and  at  the  same  time  the  decorative  art  was 
geometric.  But  here  in  the  north  and  east  we  find  textiles 
extremely  weak;  yet,  when  they  do  appear  they  tend  to 
geometric  forms.  Beadwork,  however,  more  often  followed 
the  freehand  motives  than  not.  So  we  see  here  the  sugges- 
tion of  a chronological  relation  in  that  this  particular  beaded 
art  was  derived  from  bark  and  skin  decorations. 

The  extreme  floral  character  of  some  of  this  beadwork 
has  led  many  to  regard  the  whole  as  a post-Columbian  de- 
velopment. The  very  wide  distribution  of  the  Cree  and 
Montagnais,  together  with  their  very  early  intimate  associa- 
tion with  French  colonists,  presents  a favorable  condition 
to  rapid  diffusion.  Yet,  the  very  characteristic  double- 
curve art  on  bark  and  painted  skins  cannot  be  attributed  to 
Europeans.  All  that  can  reasonably  be  conceded  is  that 
their  trade  stimulated  the  use  of  beads,  and  their  decorative 
preferences  tended  to  emphasize  the  old  floral  character. 


88 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


On  the  other  hand,  there  seems  not  the  least  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  very  striking  beaded  flowers  of  the  west  are  due  to 
European  influence. 

Strange  to  say,  all  the  regions  we  have  so  far  considered 


Fig.  37*  Decorations  on  Birchbark  from  Eastern  North  America. 
The  upper  -figures  represent  the  side  and  bottom  of  a bark  vessel  from 
the  Penobscot  Indians.  The  lower  sketch  is  a typical  “ double  curve ” 
design.  ( Center  5b,  Fig.  33.)  Speck,  1914. 1 


are  almost  completely  innocent  of  carving  or  modeling  in  the 
round,  everything  being  flat.  But  we  now  turn  to  the  North 
Pacific  Coast  and  Eskimo  areas  where  carving  is  the  leading 
art.  Faint  traces  of  carving  appear  at  the  northern  border 
of  California  and  grow  stronger  as  we  ascend  the  coast 


DESIGN  AREA'S 


89 

until  we  reach  the  Haida  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands 
which  seems  to  be  its  geographical  center.  In  the  central 
part  of  the  area  we  find  the  great  totem  poles  and  colossal 
grave  figures,  besides  an  endless  array  of  smaller  objects,  all 
in  wood.  As  yve  proceed  still  farther  northward,  wood 
tends  to  disappear  and  ivory  to  take  its  place.  Like  most 
other  traits,  ivory  carving  begins  to  be  frequent  with  the 
Tlingit  and  gradually  grows  in  intensity  as  wood  disap- 
pears, the  difference  appearing  merely  as  a matter  of  en- 
vironment. Then  as  we  go  around  the  north  coast  of 
Alaska  and  eastward  along  the  extended  habitat  of  the 
Eskimo,  carving  almost  dies  out.  This  peculiar  distribu- 
tion among  the  Eskimo  suggests  an  indirect  historical  rela- 
tion with  the  carving  center. 

The  intense  development  of  carving  at  this  center  has  a 
noticeable  effect  upon  decoration.  Boas  13  has  shown  how 
the  very  curious  relief  carving  upon  the  outsides  of  wooden 
vessels  results  from  an  attempt  to  carry  around  the  con- 
tour of  animals  or  men  in  such  a way  that  the  whole  may 
stand  for  a realistic  model.  Naturally,  when  flat  surfaces 
are  treated  the  whole  figure  is  spread  out  upon  it.  Some- 
times these  designs  are  merely  laid  out  in  color  and  though 
no  doubt  more  conventionalized  thereby,  they  are  still  the 
undeniable  offspring  of  carving.  All  this  is  a feature  of 
the  central  group  of  tribes  where  the  art  is  most  intense 
and  where  it  is,  in  part,  at  least,  the  expression  of  a very 
complex  system  of  beliefs  concerning  family  ancestors. 
North  from  the  Tlingit  and  south  from  the  Nootka  of  Van- 
couver Island  we  have  many  vessels  carved  in  the  life- 
like forms  of  animals,  but  practically  no  trace  of  the  relief 
ornamentation  just  mentioned,  a fact  which  strongly  sug- 
gests that  this  feature  is  purely  a development  of  the  more 
intense  art  at  the  center  and  that  it  is,  therefore,  relatively 
recent. 

We  have  noted  that  there  is  also  a textile  center  in  this 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


90 

region,  but  we  now  see  that  it  does  not  coincide  with  that 
for  carving,  its  location  being  inland  among  the  Salish  peo- 
ples. Emmons  14  has  made  a good  case  for  the  relatively 
recent  introduction  of  the  Chilkat  blanket  to  that  tribe. 
In  this  famous  textile  we  usually  find  the  queer  spread-out 
animal  forms  noted  above  and  not  the  usual  type  of  textile 
designs.  It  has  been  clearly  shown  that  this  decoration  was 
directly  copied  from  house  fronts.15  Now,  if  the  blanket 
came  from  the  southeast  it  must  have  arisen  in  a place 
and  at  a time  too  remote  to  have  incorporated  this  decora- 
tion at  the  start.  In  fact,  there  is  evidence  of  several  sorts 
to  show  that  these  textiles  were  originally  decorated  with 
bands  of  small  geometric  figures.  The  basketry  of  the 
Haida  and  Tlingit 16  shows  a similar  banded  style,  and 
this,  in  turn,  has  a curious  resemblance  to  the  quill  woven 
bands  of  the  Dene  people  of  the  adjacent  caribou  area. 
The  significance  of  the  latter  is  not  clear. 

Thus,  we  find  in  this  art  area  a good  example  of  conflict 
between  a carving  center  and  a textile  one,  the  Chilkat 
blanket  being  about  the  only  compromise.  The  Eskimo  of 
Alaska  took  up  basketry  but  not  its  design  decoration. 

Next  we  turn  to  a more  difficult  problem;  namely,  the 
art  of  the  southern  half  of  the  eastern  maize  area.  The 
data  available  are  so  much  less  adequate  than  for  the  pre- 
ceding that  one  must  hesitate  even  to  enter  such  a discus- 
sion. For  though,  as  stated  elsewhere,  we  have  historical 
records  vouching  for  a higher  textile  development  in  the 
Gulf  States  than  in  the  north,  no  specimens  have  come 
down  to  us.  There  are  reasons  for  suspecting  that  the 
bag  weaving  we  have  noted  for  the  upper  section  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  is  in  a large  measure  the  fringe  of  this 
area,  but  without  some  corroborative  data  we  are  scarcely 
justified  in  formulating  it  as  an  assumption.  Basketry  has 
survived  in  Louisiana,17  where  we  find  cane  weaving  in 
designs  of  black  and  red.  As  previously  stated,  the  mate- 


DESIGN  AREAS 


9i 


rial  and  technique  restrict  designs  to  just  such  as  we  find 
here,  and  from  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  truly 
represent  the  former  basketry  art  of  the  whole  South- 
eastern area.  What  may  be  the  relation  of  the  pottery 
found  here  to  the  historic  tribes  is  also  a puzzle.  If  this 
pottery  was  extant  at  the  period  of  discovery,  then  one  of 
the  most  distinctive  design  concepts  was  the  spiral  scroll. 

When  we  turn  to  the  art  of  the  intense  culture  area,  our 
problem  becomes  very  largely  one  of  archaeology  and  the 
yet  undetermined  sequences  of  culture,  because  the  thorough- 
ness of  the  Spanish  conquest  practically  obliterated  the 


Fig.  38.  Prehistoric  Sketches  of  Textile  Designs  from  the  Moya, 

Spinden,  1913. 1 

native  culture.  No  doubt  careful  research  would  still  re- 
veal many  surviving  traits  in  the  present  populations  of 
these  countries  but  such  studies  have  not  been  sufficiently 
numerous  to  assist  us.  As  suggestions  we  may  cite 
Tozzer’s18  study  of  the  Lacandones  as  a surviving  Maya 
people. 

With  numerous  dense  groups  of  people,  as  in  ancient 
Mexico  and  Peru,  where  a political  organization  gradually 
overflowed  and  submerged  the  successive  local  groups,  there 
must  have  been  a great  variety  of  art  types  that  persisted 
in  the  homely  affairs  of  life;  but  the  succeeding  centuries 
of  European  trade  seem  to  have  swept  them  into  oblivion. 
For  Mexico  and  southward  we  have  no  clear  idea  of  the 
aboriginal  textile  development.  Among  the  present  Hui- 
chol 19  we  find  considerable  weaving  in  which  the  designs 
have  a marked  realistic  tendency.  So  far  as  known,  this 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


92 

is  a trait  of  the  modern  textile  art  for  the  whole  stretch  of 
country  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  Panama.  While  it  is  cer- 
tain that  we  have  here  a result  due  in  part  to  contact  with 
Spanish  culture,  there  is  no  reason  for  assuming  that  a 


Fig.  39.  Mexican  Textile  Designs.  The  Costumed  Figure  is  from  a 
Prehistoric  Maya  Drawing  ( Spinden , 1913.  /.),  but  the  other  sketches 
represent  the  work  of  modern  Huichol  Indians  (Lumholts,  1904.  /.)> 
in  Northern  Mexico 


new  textile  art  was  created  since  the  conquest.  The  gen- 
eral similarity  to  Peru,  in  the  range  and  direction  of  con- 
ventionalization, is  sufficient  warrant  for  assuming  an  orig- 
inal textile  art  of  a similar  level.  We  may,  however,  get 
some  idea  of  Maya  textile  design  from  the  known  sculp- 
tures and  codices.20  According  to  early  Spanish  author- 
ities, the  Maya  peoples  were  the  most  expert  weavers  in 
New  Spain,  which  statement,  if  true,  enables  us  to  gauge 


DESIGN  AREAS 


93 


the  whole  state  of  the  art  from  the  illustrations  the  native 
artists  have  left  us.  From  these  the  specific  resemblances  to 
modern  native  Mexican  weaving  are  clear  21  and  also  the 
general  resemblance  to  Peruvian  styles  previously  noted 
(Fig.  39)- 

When  we  turn  to  the  pottery  of  this  region,  even  less 
survives  among  the  living  peoples  so  that  any  study  of  the 
ceramic  art  also  becomes  essentially  archaeological.  How- 
ever, the  ceramic  collections  in  our  museums  are  not  ex- 
tensively embellished  with  painted  designs.  In  contrast  to 
the  pottery  of  the  Pueblo  area  they  are  plain,  modeling  in 
relief  and  realistic  painting  here  taking  the  place  of  mere 
design.  In  the  Panama  area,  including  Costa  Rica  and  the 
Chiriqui  district,  we  have  a complex  of  alligator  and  arma- 
dillo designs,  recalling  again  Peruvian  and  some  modern 
Mexican  textile  decorations.22  In  a few  instances  the  Maya 
were  particularly  successful  with  textile-like  designs  for 
mosaic  and  stucco  work,  but  these,  the  well-known  case 
of  Mitla  in  Mexico,23  and  the  single  example  at  Chanchan, 
Peru,  are  the  striking  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  wherever 
architectural  embellishment  is  undertaken,  it  tends  toward 
realistic  carving. 

When  we  come  to  South  America,  we  find  that  certain 
accidents  have  preserved  us  a good  series  of  aboriginal 
textiles  from  Inca  culture.  In  the  technique  of  design  these 
ancients  were  remarkably  proficient,  even  to  the  extent  of 
using  complex  color  sequences.24  On  the  whole,  their  de- 
signs tend  to  be  realistic  figures : men,  cats,  birds  and  fish 
being  distinguishable  in  many  degrees  of  conventionaliza- 
tion. In  fact,  we  find  here  the  best  illustrations  of  the 
geometric  biases  in  loom  weaving.  Associated  with  this  art 
is  an  equally  superior  development  of  pottery  decoration. 
One  prominent  feature  of  this  pottery  is  the  introduction 
of  life  forms,  so  that  we  have  jars  representing  persons, 
birds,  monkeys,  fishes,  etc.,  in  which  the  modeling  is  of  a 


300 


A Series  of  Peruvian  Designs.  Mead,  1916. 1 


DESIGN  AREA'S 


95 


high  order.  The  decorations  are  in  both  color  and  incised 
work.  In  color,  we  have  the  great  triumph  of  Nasca  and 
Titicaca  ware,  so  far  superior  to  anything  yet  discovered 
in  the  New  World.  The  painted  designs  upon  this  pottery 
are  comparable  to  those  upon  cloth  in  that  they  have  the 
same  realistic  tendencies.  Certain  fixed  conventional  forms 
appear  both  on  pottery  and  cloth,  suggesting  the  funda- 
mental unity  of  design  concepts  for  both  ceramics  and  tex- 
tiles. 

As  we  go  out  from  Peru  in  either  direction,  pottery  deco- 
rations become  inferior;  consequently,  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  center  of  the  art  was  in  that  country.  The  great  prob- 
lem for  the  future  is  to  discover  the  historical  relations  of 
this  center  to  the  adjacent  cultures.  If  we  follow  around 
the  north  coast  and  down  into  Brazil  we  find  greater  use 
of  painted  pottery  decorations  than  in  the  corresponding 
parts  of  North  America.  No  doubt  one  factor  in  this  dis- 
tribution is  the  presence  of  the  very  strong  Peruvian  art 
center.  In  a similar  way  this  Peruvian  influence  can  be 
seen  in  Chile  and  the  adjacent  parts  of  Argentina,  presum- 
ably again  connecting  with  eastern  Brazil. 

As  to  the  textile  designs  in  these  outlying  regions,  we  are 
so  ignorant  that  little  can  be  said,  though  the  explorations  of 
German  anthropologists  25  among  the  wilder  peoples  of  east- 
ern Brazil  give  us  a fair  idea  of  designs  in  a few  localities. 
As  previously  noted,  we  find  here  the  designs  peculiar  to 
cane  basketry  in  all  parts  of  the  world;  however,  some 
textile  work  exists  in  which  simple  striped  designs  occur, 
though  on  the  whole  the  designs  are  similar  to  those  upon 
basketry.  Painted  decorations  upon  bark  and  wood  are 
also  found  which  have  a geometric  character;  but  these  are 
almost  entirely  made  up  of  triangles. 

In  the  northwest  Amazon  country  there  is  an  identity  be- 
tween pottery  designs  and  those  used  in  body  painting.26 
The  colors  are  laid  on  in  large  masses,  but  in  the  form  of 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


96 

true  textile  designs.  A similar  style  of  body  painting  has 
been  reported  for  Panama. 

This  relatively  brief  survey  of  New  World  art  reveals 
some  interesting  general  characteristics.  The  experience  of 
anthropologists  shows  that  by  generalizing  design  character- 
istics we  can  consistently  differentiate  a few  centers  of  de- 
velopment and  influence.  These  prove  also  to  be  centers  of 
specialization  in  industrial  art.  For  example,  the  tribes  of 
California  are  lamentably  deficient  in  everything  but  bas- 
ketry. Again,  we  see  that  geometric  art  and  realistic  dec- 
oration tend  to  be  antagonistic  to  each  other  in  the  sense 
that  wherever  one  predominates  the  other  adjusts  itself 
to  it.  But  while  this  is  so  strikingly  true  of  the  centers 
we  find  many  intermediately  situated  peoples  practising  the 
two  or  more  special  arts  of  the  nearest  centers,  but  less 
successfully.  In  North  America  particularly  we  find  a 
tendency  for  women  to  produce  the  geometric  art  and  men 
the  realistic.  That  this  has  an  important  psychological  basis 
is  unlikely  since  the  distinction  is  clearest  among  the  groups 
where  hunting  is  the  chief  work  of  the  men.  Here  the 
textile  arts  fall  to  the  women,  who  thus  find  their  activities 
limited.  Among  the  Pueblo  peoples  on  the  other  hand, 
where  the  men  wove,  we  still  find  geometric  art. 

Finally,  we  must  not  forget  that  we  have  been  but  skim- 
ming over  the  surface  of  a very  complex  problem.  Each 
small  territory  presents  its  own  particular  characteristics. 
Art,  too,  has  everywhere  strong  individualities  which  tend 
to  obscure  the  common  elements,  thus  making  every 
thorough  survey,  of  even  a small  area  extremely  exacting. 
The  work  of  Kroeber27  in  California  demonstrates  that 
often  the  large  areas  we  have  designated  can  be  resolved 
into  many  small  geographical  sub-areas,  which  can,  in 
some  cases,  be  further  differentiated  into  tribal  types.  How- 
ever, all  this  is  too  intricate  for  discussion  here. 


SYMBOLISM 


97 


SYMBOLISM 

No  discussion  of  our  subject,  however  brief,  can  disre- 
gard symbolism.  Though  an  old  subject,  it  seems  to  have 
been  given  new  life  by  Von  den  Steinen’s  observations  in 
Brazil 28  and  Haddon’s  29  vigorous  exposition  of  the  realistic 
origin  theory.  Following  this,  with  Boas  30  as  leader,  a 
number  of  American  anthropologists  began  an  intensive 
study  of  designs  in  the  basketry  and  beadwork  areas  we 
have  discussed.  It  was  found  that  all  tribes  have  names 
for  many  of  their  designs  and  in  some  cases,  at  least,  employ 
these  names  to  express  ideas.  Since  these  are  almost  always 
derived  from  familiar  objects,  as  bird,  feather,  tree,  etc., 
we  are  confronted  with  the  possibility  that  the  names  were 
given  at  a time  when  the  design  was  truly  pictographic. 
This  theory  must  be  considered  notwithstanding  that  we 
found  certain  objections  to  such  origins  in  the  influence 
of  the  technique.  Accordingly,  we  have  this  problem : 
When  a design  is  called  by  a definite  name,  is  that  name 
a clue  to  its  historic  origin? 

The  study  of  design  names  shows  that  this  nomenclature 
develops  according  to  the  practical  needs  of  the  workers, 
for  among  the  Porno  31  and  Dakota,32  who  lead  in  their 
respective  centers,  designs  have  been  analyzed  into  their 
structural  elements  and  names  given  to  the  same.  Further, 
when  definite  composite  designs  have  been  established,  the 
names  of  the  separate  design  elements  in  the  complex  are 
compounded  into  a single  term.  In  other  words,  we  have 
an  intense  systematization  of  design  composition,  with  a 
corresponding  terminology.  When  we  turn  to  less  special- 
ized decorations  like  the  Maidu  33  and  Arapaho  34  we  find 
that  they  have  a much  longer  list  of  design  names,  which 
upon  inspection  prove  to  be  the  result  of  a less  elaborate 
classification  and  a failure  to  comprehend  the  advantages 
of  design  analysis.  This  forcibly  suggests  that  the  present 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


98 

association  between  a design  and  its  name  is  quite  likely  to 
be  the  result  of  other  than  genetic  causes. 

Another  way  of  testing  the  case  is  to  compare  the  designs 
associated  with  one  name.  For  example,  from  the  special 


n v = A, 

n o P q 

Fig.  41.  A Series  of  Designs  and  Their  Names,  from  the  Dakota 
Indians:  a,  Twisted;  b,  F ull-of -points ; c,  Forked  tree;  d,  Dragon-Ay; 
e,  Filled-up;  f,  Tripe;  g,  Feathers;  h,  Leaf;  i.  Tent;  j,  Arrow;  k,  Three- 
row;  1,  Vertebrw;  m,  Whirlwind;  n,  Bag;  o,  Pointed;  p,  Trails; 
q.  Cut-out 

literature  we  find  “flying  goose”  designs  among  the  Tlingit, 
Thompson,  Pit  River,  Maidu,  Wintun,  and  Yurok,  but 
we  fail  to  find  these  designs  identical  or  even  similar.  The 
tabulation  of  “butterfly”  designs  gives  the  same  kind  of 
result.  The  converse  of  this  experiment  is  to  take  a single 


SYMBOLISM 


99 


design  and  tabulate  its  names.  Thus,  the  Pomo  “quail  tip” 
design  is  found  elsewhere  under  the  names  bushes,  pine 
cones,  mountains,  squirrel  foot,  and  foot.  This  suggests 
that  we  must  allow  for  the  borrowing  of  both  designs  and 
names  independently,  or  at  least  for  the  former. 

Now  while  this  is  very  good  argument  against  the  wide 
application  of  the  design  name  theory  of  origin,  it  does 
not  by  any  means  prove  that  in  the  beginning  the  decorator 
did  not  copy  from  nature,  for  subsequent  and  repeated 
borrowing  would  completely  disassociate  the  names.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  steady  growth  of  this  art  would  produce 
a conventional  naming  system  of  whose  existence  we  have 
good  evidence  in  the  published  studies.  Also,  the  acquisi- 
tion of  textile  decoration  requires  the  comprehension  of 
simple  steps,  or  elements,  before  mastery  can  be  acquired 
over  complexes.  It  is  inconceivable  that  decorative  art 
began  with  the  most  complicated  designs  and  developed  into 
the  simplest;  and  although  it  sometimes  happens  that  de- 
signs do  degenerate  to  mere  dots  and  bars,  yet  there  is  no 
reason  for  believing  that  the  whole  of  decorative  design  was 
evolved  in  this  way. 

Unfortunately,  we  lack  similar  studies  for  pottery  decora- 
tions, but  the  objective  analysis  of  certain  local  types  by 
Fewkes  36  gives  us  ground  for  suspecting  an  analogous  rela- 
tion of  names  and  designs.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  in 
pottery  decoration  we  have  different  technical  conditions; 
yet,  one  must  assume  that  beginners  would  start  with  very 
simple  forms,  as  in  textiles. 

However,  in  the  art  of  most  peoples  we  find  a few  de- 
signs that  rise  to  the  level  of  true  symbols.  Among  the 
best  known  New  World  symbols  are  the  cloud  terraces  of 
the  Pueblo  peoples  and  the  “whirling  logs”  or  swastika  36 
of  the  Navajo.  The  list  is,  however,  very  short,  but  in 
addition  we  find  many  degrees  of  symbolic  association  as 
among  the  Arapaho,  where  current  designs  were  often 


IOO 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


chosen  by  an  individual  to  stand  for  some  personal  interests 
peculiar  to  himself.  Again,  not  a single  case  of  real 
symbolism  has  so  far  been  reported  for  the  many  basket 
makers  of  California.  Its  strongest  development  is  in  the 
Southwest  which  is,  perhaps,  the  center  of  its  northern 
dispersion.  Among  the  Navajo  we  note  that  because  of 
their  sacred  character  the  true  symbols  are  not  used  in 
blankets,  and  in  the  Plains  we  further  note  that  the  conven- 
tional and  sesthetic  relations  are  practically  never  modified 
to  meet  the  demands  of  interpretation;  it  is  always  the  latter 
that  is  sacrificed.  All  this  indicates  that  we  are  dealing 
with  decoration  primarily,  upon  which  is  occasionally 
grafted  some  symbolism.  The  facts  are  that  practically  all 

Fig.  42.  True  Symbols.  The  -first  represents  the  clouds,  or  “cloud 
terrace ” of  the  Pueblo  Indians;  the  second,  the  swastika,  or  “whirling 
logs ” of  the  Navajo 

of  the  religious  art  of  the  New  World  is  highly  realistic  and, 
therefore,  stands  apart  from  the  art  of  ordinary  decoration. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  recall  our  initial  question:  Is  the 
pattern  name  at  its  inception  symbolic,  or  even  representa- 
tive? We  can  safely  say  that  in  most  cases  it  was  certainly 
neither.  The  suggestion  is  that  symbolic  art  is  primarily 
realistic,  and  that  many  true  symbols  may  be  explained  as 
derived  from  pictures;  but  true  symbols  are  relatively  rare 
in  the  geometric  designs  we  have  studied  and  we  have 
consequently  no  good  reason  for  assuming  that  many  of 
these  as  a class  were  once  realistic.  In  short,  the  problem 
is  an  historical  one.  We  have  seen  that  geometric  art  is 
sometimes  under  pressure  from  realistic  art  and  perhaps  is 
always  so.  Hence,  the  feeling  that  its  designs  should  be 


SYMBOLISM 


IOI 


representative  may  universally  arise  and  so  account  for  all 
these  design  interpretations  as  secondary  phenomena. 


1.  Spinden,  1913.  I;  Kidder,  1915. 

I. 

2.  Holmes,  1888.  I. 

3.  Schmidt,  1905.  I,  p.  330. 

4.  Kidder,  1915.  I;  James,  1914.  I. 

5.  Fewkes,  1898.  I. 

6.  James,  1914.  I. 

7.  Hough,  1907.  1. 

8.  Fewkes,  1914.  I. 

9.  Boas,  1903.  I;  Kroeber,  1908. 

II. 

10.  Kroeber,  1905.  I. 

11.  Speck,  1914.  I. 

12.  Speck,  1914.  I. 

13.  Boas,  1897.  I. 

14.  Emmons,  1907.  I. 

15.  Boas,  in  Emmons,  1907.  I. 

16.  Emmons,  1903.  I. 

17.  Swanton,  1911.  I. 

18.  Tozzer,  1907.  I. 

19.  Lumholtz,  1900.  I. 


20.  Spinden,  1913.  I,  p.  148. 

21.  Lumholtz,  1904.  I. 

22.  Holmes,  1888.  II ; MacCurdy, 
1911.  I. 

23.  Joyce,  1914.  I. 

24.  Mead,  1906.  I. 

25.  Von  den  Steinen,  1897.  I; 
Koch-Griinberg,  1908.  I. 

26.  Whiff en,  1915.  I. 

27.  Kroeber,  1905.  I. 

28.  Von  den  Steinen,  1897.  I. 

29.  Haddon,  1902.  I. 

30.  Boas,  1903.  I. 

31.  Barrett,  1908.  I. 

32.  Wissler,  1904.  I. 

33.  Dixon,  1902.  I. 

34.  Kroeber,  1902.  I. 

35.  Fewkes,  1898.  I. 

36.  Wilson,  Thomas,  1896.  I. ; 
Matthews,  1902.  I. 


CHAPTER  VI 


ARCHITECTURE 

The  only  regions  in  which  building  rises  to  the  level  of 
architecture  are  those  occupied  by  the  higher  cultures  of 
Mexico  and  Peru.  Roughly  considered,  there  are  indica- 
tions of  three  centers  of  development:  Maya,  Nahua,  and 
Inca,  though  in  last  analysis  we  may  find  but  two,  the 
Maya  and  Inca,  using  those  terms  in  their  broadest  sense. 
The  chief  characteristics  common  to  both  are  rectangular 
groundplans,  massive  masonry  walls,  often  of  rubble,  and 
the  absence  of  the  arch.  The  last  is  probably  the  most  im- 
portant factor,  for  the  clumsy  method  of  a stepped  ceiling, 
closed  by  a slab  of  stone,  not  only  doomed  the  builders 
to  narrow  rooms,  but  required  very  thick,  firm  walls  for 
their  support.  The  published  plans  of  the  most  typical 
ruins  show  long,  narrow  rooms,  or  tiers  of  rooms,  the 
widest  so  far  reported  being  14  feet.1  That  these  ancient 
builders  were  aware  that  at  best  this  method  of  vaulting 
gave  but  weak  support,  is  shown  by  the  tendency  to  sup- 
port upper  stories  upon  a solid  masonry  core  around  which 
the  lower  rooms  were  grouped.2  This  may  also  be  one 
cause  for  the  relative  infrequency  of  storied  structures  and 
the  almost  universal  practice  of  securing  height  and  eleva- 
tion by  building  upon  artificial  or  natural  mounds  (Fig. 
45).  The  necessity  for  narrow  rooms  no  doubt  led  to 
the  enclosed  rectangular  court  plan,  which  prevailed  both 
in  the  North  and  the  South  (Fig.  44).  Curved  or  circular 
walls  are  very  rare  and  when  found  are  isolated  and  not  a 
part  of  a rectangular  building.  Consequently,  we  have  a 
plain  rectangular  contour  as  a universal  character. 

102 


ARCHITECTURE 


*03 

Windows  are  very  rare,  especially  in  the  north,  and  the 
doors  are  usually  rectangular  with  straight  lintels.  Colon- 
nades formed  with  rectangular  stone  supports  are  common, 
and  in  a few  cases  we  meet  with  the  cylindrical  pillar,  but  it 


Fig.  43 • A Cross-Section  of  the  Temple  of  the  Cross , Palenque,  Chiapas 
Holmes , 1895-1897. 1 


did  not  develop  far  enough  to  constitute  an  architectural 
feature.  Some  remarkable  feats  of  masonry  are  found,  and 
the  skill  of  these  ancients  in  handling  cement  and  transport- 
ing huge  masses  of  stone  excites  our  admiration. 

In  the  essential  characteristics  we  have  noted,  there  is 
little  to  distinguish  between  the  buildings  of  Peru  and  Yu- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


104 


catan,  though,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  they  did  have 
important  differences.  The  present  state  of  our  knowledge 
suggests  that  all  the  ruins  of  southern  Mexico  and  of  the 


Fig.  44.  Groundplan  of  the  House  of  the  Nuns,  XJxmal,  Yucatan. 
Morgan,  1881. 1 


adjoining  Central  American  states  are  historically  related; 
but  the  type  seems  to  disappear  toward  the  Isthmus  and 
reappears  in  Ecuador.  The  disconnection  of  these  two 
centers  in  the  face  of  their  common  structural  characteristics 
presents  an  interesting  problem  as  to  how  much  of  this 


ARCHITECTURE 


105 


is  due  to  borrowing.  If  we  take  a little  broader  view,  we 
shall  find  certain  more  widely  distributed  building  concepts. 
First,  the  pyramidal  mound  for  burial  seems  to  extend  from 
northern  Mexico  to  the  Isthmus  and  then  to  recur  in  Colom- 
bia, passing  through  Ecuador  and  down  into  the  coast  of 


* ,E 


A B CD  E F 

Fig.  45.  Elevations  and  Groundplans  of  the  Ruin  Known  as  Santa 


Rosa  Xlabpak,  Yucatan.  Spinden,  1913. 1 

Old  Peru.  At  least  in  one  part  of  the  Inca  domain  we  find 
buildings  upon  them.  In  fact,  their  general  absence  in  Old 
Peru  is  accounted  for  by  the  rocky  nature  of  the  country, 
which  affords  sites  of  natural  elevation  to  which  buildings 
were  frequently  adjusted  by  terraces.3  It  may  be  of  interest 
to  note  that  the  pyramid  mound  both  for  burial  and  build- 
ing sites  extends  up  into  the  Mississippi  Valley  as  far  as  the 
famous  Cahokia  of  Illinois,  and  that  this  distribution  is  con- 
tinuous with  the  general  mound  area  of  the  upper  valley. 
In  other  words,  the  occurrence  of  mounds  of  this  type  has  a 


106  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

generally  continuous  distribution  from  the  Great  Lakes  of 
the  North  to  the  coast  of  Old  Peru  of  the  South.  Through- 
out, they  are  most  numerous  in  level  districts. 

The  northern  limits  of  building  attributed  to  the  Nahua 
are  on  the  Gulf  Coast  about  the  24 ° of  latitude,  or  in 
striking  distance  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Though  all  the  later 
northern  buildings  are  far  less  preserved  than  those  of  the 
older  Maya,  they  seem  to  have  one  suggestive  difference, 
the  absence  of  the  vaulted  ceiling  and  the  consequent  in- 
creased size  of  rooms.  The  roofs  were  probably  flat  and 
supported  by  beams  resting  upon  internal  pillars  where 
necessary  (Fig.  46).  It  seems  strange  that  the  Maya  did 
not  make  more  use  of  wood,  but  the  Nahua  style  reminds  us 
of  Pueblo  architecture,  where  beams  of  wood  support  the 
ceilings  and  roofs.4  Thus  again,  we  have  an  interesting 
case  of  continuous  distribution.  It  is  certain  that  the  large 
and  imposing  ruins  did  not  house  the  bulk  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  surviving  examples  show  that  the  prevailing 
habitation  was  a small,  rectangular  one-room  house  whose 
essential  structure,  when  of  stone  or  adobe,  was  the  same 
as  found  in  the  several  units  of  the  so-called  palaces  and 
temples,  except  that  the  roof  was  thatched.  In  Peru,  the 
roofs  were  often  supported  by  ridge  poles  which  would  give 
us  about  the  same  interior  effect  as  the  stepped  ceilings. 
The  walls  of  the  houses  take  three  forms,  all  of  which  may 
be  encountered  on  either  continent;  namely,  stone,  adobe 
and  mud  reinforced  with  canes  or  wattling.  Studies  among 
the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  have  indicated  that  when  we 
know  more  of  that  area  we  shall  find  a period  of  single 
detached  adobe  and  stone  rectangular  houses  preceding  the 
composite  pile  of  the  modern  pueblo.  In  fact,  the  Pueblo 
Indians  of  the  present  show  a disposition  to  revert  to 
the  detached  house,  which  does  not  materially  differ  from 
a single  unit  in  the  village  structure.  In  like  manner,  we 
find  in  Peru  a grouping  of  single  houses  around  a court  so  as 


ARCHITECTURE 


107 


to  form  a complete  enclosure,  and  the  groundplan  of  these 
is  not  essentially  different  from  those  of  the  preceding  struc- 
tures. Similar  conditions  have  been  reported  for  the  Maya 
district.5 

We  see,  then,  that  in  at  least  two  particulars  we  have  a 
broad  cultural  base  for  the  highly  specialized  building  arts 
of  the  Maya  and  Inca.  That  all  these  widely  distributed 
characters  result  by  diffusion  from  these  two  centers  is 


Mexico.  Holmes,  1895-1897. 1 

scarcely  logical,  for  even  cultures  are  not  built  of  nothing, 
but  all  have  a long  train  of  historical  antecedents.  It  is 
much  more  reasonable  to  assume  that  diffusion,  and  per- 
haps other  factors,  brought  a certain  extended  uniformity 
in  house-building  before  the  final  burst  of  higher  culture  in 
these  two  centers.  Granting  that  in  this  burst  they  may 
have  been  independent,  they  nevertheless  had  the  same 
heritage  from  which  to  fashion  their  art. 

One  argument  for  their  independence  is  to  be  found  in 
the  secondary  decorative  features.  In  this  respect  the  north- 
ern buildings  are  far  in  the  lead.  The  embellishment  of  the 
fagades  is  often  intricate  and  full  round  sculptures  are  let 
into  the  walls  by  tenons;  stucco  reliefs  are  built  out  upon 
rough  skeletons  of  stone  work;  and  elaborate  mosaics  of 
separately  carved  stones  are  arranged  so  as  to  make  gro- 
tesque faces,  as  well  as  geometric  patterns.  A special  fea- 
ture is  the  use  of  monolithic  monuments  commonly  called 
stela,  placed  around  and  among  buildings,  the  surfaces  of 
which  are  richly  carved  with  pictographs  and  hieroglyphs. 


io8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


The  exterior  and  inside  ornamentation  was  often  painted  in 
a very  skilful  way. 

When  we  turn  to  Peru,  such  monuments  are  conspic- 
uously absent  and  the  exteriors  of  the  buildings  are,  in  the 
main,  plain.6  Still,  we  have  an  approach  to  it  in  the  cele- 
brated stucco  walls  of  Chanchan,  bearing  an  elaborate  tex- 
tile design,  and  in  the  inland  we  find  traces  of  painting  upon 
smooth  stucco,  suggesting  that  there  was  a great  deal  of 
such  ornamentation  that  has  disappeared.  Then  we  have  a 
few  noted  monoliths,  as  the  Chavin  stone  and  the  very 
remarkable  gateway  at  Tiahuanaco.  To  these  may  be  added 
the  curious  sculptures  at  San  Augustine,  Colombia.  Both 
the  stucco  and  the  monolithic  carvings  have  a certain  gen- 
eral resemblance  to  those  of  the  Maya,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  they  have  great  differences.  It  is  also  noticeable  that 
they  have  their  counterparts  in  the  textile  and  ceramic  art 
of  their  respective  localities.  Yet,  the  distinction  remains, 
that  secondary  embellishment,  or  what  is  often  considered 
true  architecture,  is  characteristic  only  of  the  Maya  type. 

Associated  with  the  foregoing  culture  were  no  less  worthy 
feats  of  highway  and  drainage  construction,  particularly  by 
the  two  great  military  cultures,  the  Nahua  and  Inca.  In 
Peru,  roads  were  paved  and  graded  and  brooks  spanned  by 
stone  culverts,  many  of  which  are  still  in  use.7  These  were 
necessarily  formed  by  huge  stone  slabs  supported  by  piers. 
Chasms  were  bridged  by  true  suspension  bridges  and  in  some 
cases  crossed  in  chairs  running  on  cables.  Even  a kind  of 
pontoon  bridge  was  in  use.  In  Mexico,  the  country  was 
less  rugged,  but  the  roads  were  excellent.  In  both  regions 
the  irrigation  and  aqueduct  systems  are  famous.  As  all 
travel  was  by  foot,  and  only  in  Peru  were  pack  animals 
used,  these  road  builders  had  a somewhat  different  prob- 
lem than  confronted  the  users  of  carts  in  the  Old  World. 

As  we  proceed  southward  in  Peru,  architecture  rapidly 
deteriorates,  disappearing  altogether  at  the  River  Maule. 


ARCHITECTURE 


109 

Thence  toward  the  east  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Calcha- 
qui,  we  find  rough  stone  structures  of  many  rooms,  not  un- 
like one-story  pueblos.  Burial  is  now  in  urns  without  true 
mounds,  but  many  small  carved  monoliths  have  come  to 
notice.  Once  out  into  the  guanaco  area  we  find  the  simplest 
kind  of  skin  tent,  which  in  the  far  south  becomes  merely  a 
windbreak.  Throughout  the  Amazon,  on  the  north  coast 
and  southward  as  far  as  the  Suyas,  hammocks  are  in  gen- 
eral use  and  the  houses  are  frequently  primitive.  On  the 
other  hand,  very  large  thatched  structures  are  found,  under 
which,  as  under  one  great  shed,  lives  the  whole  community. 
So  far,  there  seems  to  be  no  consistent  distribution  of  varie- 
ties of  this  type,  some  are  oval  and  well  thatched,  some 
square,  and  some  mere  roof  shelters.  In  fact,  the  only  thing 
essential  is  a hammock  to  keep  one  off  the  ground  and  a 
roof  overhead.  The  whole  population  is  rather  nomadic. 
As  we  go  eastward  through  the  highlands  of  Venezuela, 
the  court  structures  of  Colombia  disappear,  but  still  the 
prevailing  form  is  the  rectangular  hut;  but  in  Guiana  we 
begin  to  encounter  the  oval  thatched  house  of  Brazil.  Of 
some  interest  are  the  pile-dwellings  of  the  north  coast,  now 
almost  extinct,  though  a few  survive  in  swamps  and  even 
on  dry  land.  In  some  of  the  inundated  districts  floating 
houses  are  found.  Finally,  the  meager  archaeological  data 
we  have  reveal  only  one  important  site  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Amazon  where  mound  structures  have  been  reported. 

The  structure  of  habitations  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  has  been  carefully  studied  so  that  we  can  make  very 
definite  statements  as  to  the  types  and  their  distributions.8 
Nowhere  outside  of  the  frontier  to  the  Pueblo  area  do  we 
find  buildings  of  stone  until  we  reach  the  Eskimo.  Conse- 
quently, there  is  very  little  content  to  the  archaeology  of 
architecture,  our  data  being  almost  exclusively  from  the 
surviving  tribes.  The  only  building  that  reminds  us  of  the 
traits  we  have  discussed  in  our  consideration  of  the  area 


no 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


of  intense  maize  culture  was  found  in  the  lower  Mississippi 
Valley,  a rectangular  house  with  walls  of  clay  reinforced  by 
wattling.  Sometimes,  as  in  Arkansas,  there  were  two  or 
three  rooms  suggesting  the  houses  of  Colombia,  but  these 
were  not  the  prevailing  type  on  the  lower  Mississippi. 

The  Gulf  States  form  a fairly  distinct  house  area.  Par- 
ticularly on  the  Atlantic  side  were  curious  oblong  rectangu- 
lar houses  with  curved,  or  bowed,  roofs.  Their  construc- 
tion was  simple,  a framework  of  light  poles,  lashed  into 
place,  with  coverings  of  bark  or  thatch.  (For  type  illus- 
trations see  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians .)  In  the 
Florida  swamps  a kind  of  platform  pile-dwelling  is  found, 
with  roof  and  open  sides  reminding  one  of  Guiana  types. 
A very  widely  distributed  structure  is  an  oval  dome-shaped 
house,  plastered  over  with  mud,  with  no  opening  except 
the  door.  In  fact,  none  of  these  southern  houses  seems  to 
have  been  provided  with  smoke  holes,  most  of  the  cooking 
being  done  out-of-doors. 

In  northeastern  United  States  the  prevailing  form  among 
the  Algonkin  tribes  was  a low,  oval  framework  of  poles 
covered  with  bark,  mats,  or  thatch,  according  to  the  season 
and  locality.  The  Iroquois  of  New  York,  who  are  generally 
regarded  as  of  southern  origin,  lived  in  long,  rectangular, 
bark-covered  communal  houses  known  in  local  literature  as 
the  “long-houses.”  9 The  structural  similarity  of  this  to 
one  of  the  southern  types  is  obvious.  West  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan the  dome-shaped  Algonkin  house  often  gave  way  to  a 
rectangular  one  with  a flat  roof,  and  among  the  Eastern 
Dakota  we  meet  with  this  form  made  by  setting  up  rows  of 
posts  in  the  ground.  A little  farther  west  on  the  Missouri 
we  have  what  is  usually  called  an  earth-lodge,  a circular, 
conical-roofed  framework  covered  with  thatch  and  finally 
with  turf.10  However,  its  distribution  is  restricted  in  the 
main  to  Caddoan  and  Siouan  tribes  of  bison  hunters,  who 
also  raised  some  maize. 


ARCHITECTURE 


hi 


Next,  we  have  a well-known  type  of  shelter  to  which  the 
Dakota  name,  tipi,  is  usually  applied.  In  the  east,  it  ap- 
pears in  northern  New  England,  extending  up  into  Lab- 
rador, thence  eastward  through  the  great  Cree  and  O jibway 
range,  well  up  into  the  Canadian  Northwest.  Also,  it 
sweeps  down  into  the  bison  area,  reaching  some  of  the  no- 
madic peoples  of  the  Pueblo  area  and  again  invading  the 
salmon  area  in  Oregon  and  Washington.  The  other  forms 
of  shelter  we  have  noted  have  all  but  disappeared,  while  the 
tipi  is  still  used  by  the  surviving  tribes  of  this  great  area. 
These  conditions  tend  to  make  it  the  most  typical  Indian 
shelter,  and  it  now  has  so  firm  a place  in  the  popular  mind 
that  it  is  used  in  art  and  story,  regardless  of  the  locality. 
Not  infrequently  we  see  pictures  of  Pocahontas,  Henry 
Hudson  on  Manhattan,  and  even  of  California  incidents 
associated  with  tipis , a form  of  shelter  entirely  inappro- 
priate. The  term  wigwam  in  Colonial  literature  is  the 
Algonkin  name  for  the  oval  bark-covered  house  we  have 
described,  and  the  modern  tendency  to  apply  the  same  name 
to  the  tipi  has  led  to  great  confusion. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  we  shall  find  a single  type  of 
tipi  prevailing  throughout.  The  essential  structural  concept 
is  a tripod  of  poles,  supporting  other  poles  forming  a cone.11 
The  base  tripod  is  formed  by  binding  together  three  or  four 
poles,  but  in  far  western  Canada  these  poles  sometimes 
have  interlocking  forks,  a feature  also  noted  in  southern 
Nevada  and  in  the  older  type  of  Navajo  hogan.  Where 
birch  trees  grow,  the  cover  is  birchbark;  in  the  bison  area 
it  is  skins.  The  Ojibway,  however,  often  used  mats,  as 
was  sometimes  the  case  on  the  Columbia  River.  In  the  far 
North,  we  find  a pointed  skin  tent,  even  forming  a summer 
dwelling  for  the  Eskimo. 

For  the  details  of  varieties  of  tipi  and  their  distribution 
we  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  special  literature.  We  note 
that  it  seems  to  follow  the  outlines  of  the  caribou  and  bison- 


1 12 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


hunting  areas  and  is  everywhere  definitely  associated  with 
a nomadic  hunting  life,  for  many  tribes  on  the  borders  used 
it  only  when  on  hunting  trips.  Its  origin  and  development, 
therefore,  is  one  of  the  important  problems  in  our  subject 
and  must  receive  close  attention  in  the  future.  Curiously 
enough,  the  tipi  is  found  in  Siberia  and  has  analogous  forms 
in  northern  Europe,  suggesting  the  possibility  of  its  definite 
association  with  reindeer  culture. 

We  have  now  covered  the  whole  of  the  northern  continent 
except  the  western  part  and  the  Arctic.  The  most  distinc- 
tive structures  here  are  the  wooden  totem-pole  houses  of 
the  North  Pacific  Coast,  reaching  their  highest  development 
among  the  Haida  and  Tlingit.12  The  structural  plan  con- 
sists of  four  massive,  upright  timbers  supporting  two  long, 
equally  heavy  beams.  These  are  placed  parallel  about  four 
feet  apart  and  are  essentially  ridge  poles.  Around  these  a 
rectangular  enclosure  is  made  by  setting  split  planks  upon 
end.  The  ends  are  gabled  and  the  roof  of  planks.  The  only 
framework  is  the  massive  central  support,  in  contrast  to 
which  the  remainder  of  the  building  appears  flimsy  in  the 
extreme.  But  we  find  one  feature  not  so  far  observed  north 
of  the  Nahua  area,  namely,  architectural  embellishment. 
The  four  interior  posts  are  carved  in  high  relief,  and  out- 
side is  the  famous  totem  pole.  Paint  is  used  to  reinforce 
the  carving,  and  in  addition  the  front  of  the  house  is  deco- 
rated with  one  of  those  curious  spread-out  animal  forms  we 
have  noted  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Had  these  people 
carved  in  stone  instead  of  wood,  we  should  now  find  their 
country  one  of  our  richest  archaeological  fields,  but  the 
perishable  nature  of  their  building  material  has  left  no 
records  of  their  past  history. 

The  influence  of  this  type  of  architecture  reaches  northern 
California,  for  though  the  heavy  carved  timbers  have  a 
central  distribution  only,  we  find  the  rectangular  house  of 
upright  planks,  with  a circular  door  throughout  the  coastal 


ARCHITECTURE 


ti3 

belt  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  In  Canada  it  invades  the 
mountainous  area  of  the  Dene,  but  in  Alaska  it  stops  rather 
suddenly.  In  general,  then,  the  distribution  of  this  type 
of  house  lies  in  a narrow  belt  along  the  Pacific  Coast, 
stretching  from  northern  California  to  the  Copper  River 
in  Alaska. 

Central  and  southern  California  present  simple  but  vari- 
ous forms  of  shelter.18  Yet,  they  may  be  characterized  as 
shelters  of  brush  and  tule  reeds.  More  permanent  houses 
are  sometimes  formed  by  setting  up  poles  over  slight  exca- 
vations. Toward  the  interior  we  meet  with  the  margin  of 
the  great  Shoshoni  linguistic  area,  the  characteristic  shelter 
of  which  is  a simple  brush-covered  lodge.  Two  forms  occur, 
the  precise  distribution  of  which  is  not  yet  known,  but  the 
prevailing  one  seems  to  be  a low  dome-shaped,  grass-cov- 
ered affair  still  encountered  among  the  Comanche  and  the 
Apache.  The  other  type  we  have  mentioned  is  a pointed 
brush  shelter  upon  a tripod  of  forked  poles,  a form  closely 
allied  to  the  Navajo  hogan  and  perhaps  to  the  tipi. 

Strictly  considered,  none  of  these  houses  so  far  described 
can  be  classed  as  underground.  Yet,  some  approach  this 
qualification  in  that  they  have  sunken  floors.  However, 
in  the  interior,  skirting  the  coastal  belt  for  rectangular 
houses,  from  the  southern  tip  of  Alaska  on  the  north  to 
San  Francisco  Bay  on  the  south  is  a belt  of  semi-subterra- 
nean houses  entered  through  the  smoke  hole  by  a stepped 
ladder.14  This  type  seems  to  center  among  the  inland  Salish 
of  British  Columbia  and  Washington.  Because  of  this 
peculiar  distribution  one  may  suspect  the  Salish  as  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  phenomenon.  The  next  place  where  we 
encounter  a subterranean  house  is  among  the  Eskimo  of 
Alaska.  In  this  case  we  have  two  ways  of  entering: 
through  the  smoke  hole  and  by  a long  covered  trench,  each 
used  according  to  the  season.  The  Eskimo  house,  however, 
is  often  set  over  a very  shallow  excavation  and  earth  heaped 


1 14  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

over  its  framework  like  the  earth-lodge  of  the  Missouri. 
This  form  of  house  extends  eastward  beyond  the  mouth  of 
the  Mackenzie,  but  from  there  on  timber  is  too  scarce. 
Stone  houses  were  noted  by  Stefansson  near  Coronation 
Gulf,  and  their  distribution  from  that  point  eastward  seems 
to  be  continuous.  Their  roofs  are  usually  of  skins,  often 
supported  by  whale  ribs.  The  snowhouse  we  all  know  so 
well  is  universal  from  east  to  west  as  a temporary  residence, 
which  in  summer  gives  way  to  a small  skin  tent.  Its  long, 
low,  tunnel-like  entrance  and  internal  arrangement  is  the 
same  as  that  for  the  earth-covered  type  of  Alaska,  and 
both  together  may  be  regarded  as  revealing  the  character- 
istic Eskimo  house  concept. 

Jochelson  15  has  brought  together  some  data  for  a his- 
torical connection  between  the  earth-covered  houses  of  the 
Old  and  New  Worlds.  While  it  is  clear  that  examples  of 
such  dwellings  are  found  intermittently  from  Europe,  across 
Asia,  to  America,  we  do  not  find  the  definite  structural  par- 
allels necessary  to  form  satisfactory  conclusions  regarding 
their  historical  relations.  Archaeological  work  has  brought 
to  light  a somewhat  more  extensive  distribution  of  such 
houses  in  America.  Numerous  depressions  in  the  upper  half 
of  the  Ohio  Valley  have  been  regarded  as  old  house  sites  and 
recently  Sterns  16  located  rectangular  house  pits  in  Nebraska, 
but,  except  in  the  last  case,  our  knowledge  is  not  definite, 
and  the  very  perishable  nature  of  the  structures  so  far 
observed  makes  further  discovery  extremely  difficult. 

The  explorations  of  Kidder  and  Guernsey  in  the  adjacent 
parts  of  Utah  and  Arizona  reveal  an  ancient  type  of  pit 
dwelling  that  promises  to  have  a genetic  relation  to  the 
kiva,  or  circular  underground  ceremonial  chamber  of  south- 
western United  States.17  The  American  data  upon  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  various  kinds  of  pit  dwellings  have  recently 
been  reviewed  by  Waterman.18  However,  in  all  these  dis- 
cussions the  tendency  is  to  call  every  shelter  in  which  the 


ARCHITECTURE 


US 

floor  level  is  below  the  surface,  a pit  dwelling,  even  in  cases 
where  this  is  obviously  due  to  the  necessity  for  removing 
a few  inches  of  the  root-infested  soil  to  secure  a hard,  wear- 
ing surface.  One  must  suspect,  therefore,  that  progress  in 
this  comparative  problem  will  await  the  detailed  study  of 
special  areas  in  which  full  account  is  taken  of  minute  details 
in  structures,  rather  than  correspondences  to  generalized 
architectural  characters. 

A similar  problem  deserving  investigation  is  the  lean-to 
type  of  shelter  which  is  quite  characteristic  of  the  great 
Northwest  of  Canada  and  again  of  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  South  America.  Some  recent  travelers  have  brought 
out  information  as  to  the  use  of  such  shelters  by  the  more 
primitive  tribes  in  parts  of  British  Columbia.  One  is  tempted 
to  see  in  the  lean-to  the  parent  of  the  tipi,  the  Navajo  hogan, 
and  many  other  New  World  types.  A careful  study  of  these 
types,  therefore,  seems  worth  while. 

In  conclusion,  attention  may  be  called  to  one  peculiarity 
of  aboriginal  house  construction.  The  chimney  was  un- 
known. Not  even  the  skilled  architects  of  Mexico  and  Peru 
seemed  to  have  hit  upon  the  idea.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
historic  pueblos  they  are  found,  but  this  is  generally  attrib- 
uted to  Spanish  influence.  In  the  older  type  of  pueblo 
structure  only  the  rooms  having  open  roofs  were  used  as 
living  quarters.  Hence,  the  universal  American  way  of 
heating  a house  is  by  an  open  hearth  at  the  center  with  a 
hole  in  the  roof  immediately  above. 

Under  the  general  head  of  architecture  we  may  also  con- 
sider earthworks,  mounds,  circles,  etc.,  even  though  it  is 
unusual  to  so  associate  them.  As  we  have  noted,  it  was 
the  custom  in  the  area  of  intensive  maize  culture  to  place 
temples  and  similar  structures  upon  mounds,  if  no  natural 
eminence  was  at  hand.  Something  like  this  was  observable 
at  the  period  of  discovery  in  southeastern  United  States, 
where  the  natives  erected  council  houses  and  even  dwellings 


ii 6 THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

upon  raised  platforms,  or  mounds  of  earth.  However,  we 
find  widely  diffused  over  the  lowlands  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  thousands  of  burial  mounds,  or  tumuli.  These  are 
usually  of  moderate  size,  often  covering  but  a single  burial. 
Yet  we  not  infrequently  meet  with  very  inspiring  works 
containing  many  interments  and,  in  the  few  cases  where 
systematic  excavations  have  been  made,  showing  by  their 
internal  structure  that  the  whole  had  been  gradually  built 
up  by  adding  earth  for  each  successive  burial. 

In  addition  to  these  tumuli  we  find  variously  distributed 
a relatively  small  number  of  earthworks  of  more  specialized 
types.  Particularly  in  Wisconsin  we  find  numerous  small 
works  in  the  unmistakable  forms  of  animals  and  men.  Such 
are  occasionally  met  with  elsewhere,  the  most  conspicuous 
example  being  the  great  Serpent  Mound  in  Ohio,  which 
has  no  parallel  in  the  whole  world.  Conspicuous  among 
the  unique  earthworks  are  the  great  truncated  mounds  at 
Cahokia,  Illinois,  near  St.  Louis,  again  at  Vincennes,  Indi- 
ana, and  the  Etowah  Mound  in  Forsyth  County,  Georgia. 
Circular  and  rectangular  enclosures  are  sometimes  met  with, 
particularly  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  while  another  conspicuous 
type  is  the  enclosure  upon  a flat-topped  hill,  to  be  noted 
under  fortifications. 

In  general  then  we  see  the  burial  mound  and  occasional 
associated  earthwork  are  characteristic  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  that  with  respect  to  distribution  they  seem  to 
center  there.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  gross 
resemblances  to  structures  and  methods  prevailing  in  the 
area  of  intensive  culture,  but  until  our  knowledge  of  both 
areas  is  more  complete  one  guess  is  as  good  as  another. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  each  of  the  States  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  will  carefully  work  out  the  classification  and  dis- 
tribution of  earthworks  within  its  borders  to  the  end  that 
we  may  be  able  to  see  the  phenomenon  in  its  true  setting; 
especially  since  these  mounds  and  earthworks  have  always 


ARCHITECTURE 


ii  7 

been  objects  of  great  popular  interest  and  the  term  mound 
builder  has  a fixed  place  in  general  literature.  We  see 
here,  however,  that  mound  building  appears  as  a trait  of 
culture  and  no  more  requires  a distinct  race  for  its  explana- 
tion than  does  the  existence  of  maize  or  tobacco.  On  the 
other  hand,  these  earth  structures  present  a problem  of 
almost  equal  importance,  since  they  are  by  far  the  most 
outstanding  and  impressive  archaeological  specimens  to  be 
found  in  the  eastern  maize  area  of  North  America. 

Fortifications  may  also  be  considered  under  the  general 
head  of  architecture.  At  the  time  of  discovery  the  native 
villages  in  the  southern  half  of  the  eastern  maize  area  were 
circled  by  palisades.  In  the  north,  the  Iroquois  possessed 
such  fortified  towns  and  even  in  New  England  they  were 
known.19  It  is  now  considered  that  certain  rings  of  earth 
in  New  York  State  mark  the  sites  of  palisaded  villages, 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  similar  redoubts  in  the 
Ohio  Valley  had  a like  origin.  The  palisade  was  used  as 
far  up  the  Missouri  as  the  Mandan  villages.  In  fact,  the 
distribution  of  palisaded  villages  is  about  coincident  with 
maize  culture  in  the  east.  The  only  other  place  for  which 
palisades  are  reported  is  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  though 
the  usual  form  in  that  region  was  a high  rock  with  over- 
hanging platforms  like  a blockhouse.  Nowhere  else  do  we 
find  fortifications  until  we  reach  the  Pueblo  area.  It  is 
true  that  a number  of  earthworks  are  designated  as  forts, 
but  their  use  as  such  is  largely  hypothetical.  Perhaps  the 
best-known  example  is  Fort  Ancient  in  Ohio,  which  is  one 
of  the  most  imposing  earthworks  in  the  world.  In  the 
Pueblo  region  the  houses  were  so  placed,  either  in  cliff  re- 
cesses, upon  mesas,  or  piled  upon  each  other  in  such  man- 
ner as  to  make  other  defensive  works  unnecessary. 

In  the  Antilles  and  eastern  South  America  the  palisaded 
village  was  known,  but  we  have  no  record  of  other  kinds 
of  defensive  works.  It  is,  however,  important  to  note  that 


n8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


we  have  here  a continuity  of  at  least  one  trait  for  the 
eastern  halves  of  both  continents. 

Naturally  the  great  military  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru 
developed  fortifications.  In  the  former,  the  road  from 
Tlaxcala  to  Mexico  City  was  defended  by  a stone  wall 
about  six  miles  long,  faced  by  a ditch.20  The  internal  citadel 
of  the  defense  works  at  Mexico  City  was  about  the  temple 
of  Tenochtitlan,  surrounded  by  a wall  six  feet  high,  where 
the  last  stand  against  Cortez  was  made.  Strange  to  say, 
the  great  ruined  cities  of  the  Maya  show  no  definite  fortifi- 
cations. It  is,  however,  in  the  Inca  territory  that  the  great- 
est systems  of  defense  appear.21  Important  points  on  roads 
were  guarded  by  blockhouses,  cities  were  defended  by 
systems  of  outlying  forts,  etc.  The  most  famous  fortresses 
are  Ollantaitambo  and  Sacsahuaman.  The  latter  is  distin- 
guished for  its  remarkable  masonry  and  the  former  for  its 
internal  passages  cut  in  solid  rock. 


1.  Spinden,  1913.  I. 

2.  Holmes,  1895-1897.  I. 

3.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 

4.  Holmes,  1895-1897.  I. 

5.  Thompson,  1911.  I. 

6.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 

7.  Markham,  1910.  I. 

8.  Morgan,  1881.  I. 

9.  Morgan,  1881.  I. 

10.  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  1911. 
I ; Spinden  and  Will,  1906.  I. 

11.  Wissler,  1910.  I. 


12.  Emmons,  1916.  I. 

13.  Kroeber,  1904.  I. 

14.  Waterman  and  Collaborators, 
1921.  I. 

15.  Jochelson,  1907.  I. 

16.  Sterns,  1915.  I. 

17.  Kidder  and  Guernsey,  1919.  I. 

18.  Waterman  and  Collaborators, 
1921.  I. 

19.  Willoughby,  1906.  I. 

20.  Joyce,  1914.  I. 

21.  Markham,  1910.  I. 


CHAPTER  VII 

WORK  IN  STONE  AND  METALS 


It  is  frequently  said  that  the  whole  of  the  New  World 
was  at  the  time  of  discovery  still  in  the  stone  age.  This  is 
an  unjust  estimate  of  the  metallurgic  development  in  Mex- 
ico and  Peru,  but  is  true  in  a certain  sense,  since  some  stone 
tools  were  still  in  use  even  at  the  most  advanced  metallic 
centers.  Outside  the  region  of  high  culture  the  characteriza- 
tion holds  and,  even  at  the  present  moment,  stone  age  cul- 
ture survives  among  a few  outlying  remnants  of  the  aborig- 
inal population.  The  gradual  displacement  of  stone  tools 
by  trade  gave  opportunities  for  the  actual  observation  of 
their  fabrication  paralleled  in  no  part  of  the  continental 
Old  World.  For,  although  we  have  from  western  Europe 
a remarkable  chronological  series  of  stone  implements  in 
which  it  is  believed  the  several  steps  in  their  development 
can  be  differentiated,  it  is  practically  impossible  to  tell 
exactly  how  the  work  was  done.  Since  we  find  in  Amer- 
ica somewhat  analogous  forms  made  from  similar  materials, 
the  tendency  has  been  to  interpret  European  specimens  by 
American  data. 

In  Europe  we  find  one  distinction  not  at  all  applicable  to 
our  subject.  Stone  work  there  is  clearly  divided  into  two 
successive  periods,  that  in  which  chipping  alone  occurs 
and  that  in  which  polishing  predominates;  while  in  prac- 
tically all  parts  of  the  New  World  we  find  the  two  processes 
in  simultaneous  use.  In  the  main,  the  stone  industry  of 
every  social  group  comprises  the  following  different  meth- 
ods: chipping,  or  flaking;  abrading,  or  pecking;  grinding 
and  polishing;  sawing  and  drilling. 


120 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


The  process  used  is  dependent  upon  the  materials.  Thus 
any  stone  like  flint,  which  has  the  property  of  conchoidal 
fracture,  is  flaked.  While  the  precise  manipulations  seem 
to  differ  according  to  locality,  the  essential  procedure  is 
everywhere  the  same.  A pebble  is  first  brought  to  a gen- 
eralized or  blank  form,  by  striking  with  a hammerstone. 
From  this  the  desired  implement  is  worked  out,  the  fine 
chipping  being  by  hand  pressure  with  an  antler  or  bone 
blunt-pointed  tool.  Holmes,1  our  leading  experimental 
archaeologist,  has  worked  out  in  his  laboratory  many  of  the 


Fig.  47.  Pebbles  Showing  the  Process  of  Abrading,  or  Pecking. 
Boas,  1909. 1 


necessary  processes,  which,  in  the  main,  agree  with  those 
observed  among  living  peoples.2 

For  pecking,  our  best  data  are  from  the  Nootka  of  Van- 
couver Island,  who  occasionally  resorted  to  it  as  late  as 
twenty-five  years  ago.5  As  shown  in  the  figure,  parallel 
grooves  were  battered  in  the  pebble  to  be  shaped,  then  the 
intervening  ridges  pecked  away,  and  so  on.  The  battering 
tool  was  a long,  oval  pebble  of  tough,  hard  stone.  When  the 
approximate  shape  of  the  desired  implement  had  been  at- 
tained, it  was  finished  by  grinding  on  suitable  stones. 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  method  employed  wherever 


WORK  IN  STONE 


121 


polished  tools  of  similar  materials  have  been  found.  But 
nephrite,  the  fine,  green,  jade-like  stone  found  on  the  North 
Pacific  Coast  and  in  Central  America,  cannot  be  worked  in 
this  way.  It  can  only  be  cut  and  ground.  Again,  our  best 
data  are  from  Canada  and  Alaska.  The  Eskimo  success- 


Fig.  48.  Pieces  of  Nephrite  Showing  the  Method  of  Cutting  and  Break- 
ing. Smith,  H.  I.,  1899. 1 


fully  sawed  off  pieces  of  the  required  shape  by  the  use  of 
thongs  and  sand  and  water ; in  short,  the  same  principle  as 
is  employed  in  modern  stone  cutting.  From  unfinished 
pieces  in  collections  and  the  fine  examples  unearthed  by 
Smith,4  it  appears  that  the  final  separation  of  the  block  was 
by  fracture  produced  by  wedging. 

As  to  drilling  and  perforating,  our  data  are  less  complete. 
Soft  stones,  like  slate,  were  drilled  with  stone  points.  By 


122 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


experimental  methods  Rau  5 has  reconstructed  the  process 
of  drilling  with  a hollow  reed  and  sand,  which  accounts  for 
the  unfinished  borings  with  attached  cores  we  sometimes 
find  in  museums.  Again,  the  Nootka  6 made  large  perfora- 
tions by  pecking.  First,  a pit  was  formed  in  the  stone  to  be 
perforated,  into  which  a hard  pebble  was  laid  and  pounded 
upon  until  the  hole  reached  the  middle;  then  the  stone  was 
inverted  and  the  process  repeated. 

The  fine  sculptures  of  the  Maya  were  executed  with 
stone  tools.  We  can  safely  assume,  therefore,  that  all  the 
stone  work  of  the  New  World  belongs  strictly  to  a stone 
age  and  was  such  as  could,  and  in  the  main  was,  accom- 
plished without  the  use  of  metal  tools. 

TYPES  OF  ARTIFACTS 

Our  next  task  is  to  enumerate  the  most  distinctive  types 
of  stone  artifacts  and  their  respective  distributions.  The 
most  universal  is  the  arrow-head,  which,  though  of  many 
varieties,  tends  to  take  the  generalized  triangular  form. 
The  notched  head  is  found  in  both  continents,  but  is  strik- 
ingly absent  from  Eskimo  collections.  By  paying  minute 
regard  to  size,  secondary  form,  and  materials,  it  has  been 
possible  to  draw  some  distinctions  between  the  arrow-heads 
from  different  parts  of  the  two  continents,  but  such  study 
has  not  advanced  to  a point  where  a summary  can  be  made.7 
The  fact  is  that  the  difficulties  of  observing  consistent  dis- 
tinctions are  so  great  as  to  be  discouraging.  Nor  do  we 
find  any  great  divergence  from  the  arrow-heads  of  the  Old 
World,  for  somewhat  similar  notched  forms  are  common 
in  Neolithic  deposits.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  they 
do  not  occur  in  Paleolithic  culture  may  have  a significant 
bearing  upon  the  history  of  our  continent. 

Lance  heads  and  even  knives  are  often  indistinguishable 
from  arrow-heads  except  as  to  size.  Another  closely  related 
instrument  is  the  drill.  If  we  add  to  these,  scrapers  and  a 


123 


WORK  IN  STONE 

few  gravers,  we  about  exhaust  the  list  of  analogous  tools. 

Chipping,  in  particular,  lends  itself  to  fanciful  produc- 
tions and  we  often  find  in  our  collections  from  both  conti- 
nents many  unusual  objects.  This  work  has  been  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  modern  tourist  trade. 

While  the  celt  and  the  gouge  from  America  cannot  read- 
ily be  distinguished  from  those  of  Neolithic  Europe,  or  any 
other  part  of  the  world,  the  grooved  ax  (Fig.  62)  is  so  far 
unique,  though  a single  specimen  has  been  found  in  China.8 
Yet  its  distribution  in  the  New  World  is  rather  restricted, 


even  if  we  include  all  implements  hafted  by  a groove.  For 
we  find  this  grooved  ax  to  be  rare  in  South  America,  so  far 
having  been  reported  only  for  Ecuador.  In  North  Amer- 
ica the  grooved  ax  is  not  found  on  the  Pacific  side,  but  is 
first  met  with  among  the  Pueblos  and  bison-hunting  tribes, 
though  with  the  latter  it  is  usually  a hammer  that  is  grooved. 
In  the  eastern  maize  area  it  is  frequently  met  with.  In  Mex- 
ico and  Central  America  it  is  relatively  infrequent,  and  in 
the  Greater  Antilles  is  not  found  at  all.  On  the  other  hand, 
neither  the  Eskimo  nor  the  Siberians  seem  to  make  use  of 
this  principle  of  hafting. 

The  highly  developed  tribes  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
use  a grooved  hammer,  but  in  some  cases  a transverse  hole 
is  made,  through  which  the  binding  is  run.  The  important 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


124 

principle  in  hafting  here  is  the  holding  of  the  flat  face  of  the 
tool  against  a similar  surface  on  the  end  of  the  handle,  as 
in  the  adze.  Curiously  enough,  this  method  has  a distribu- 
tion not  quite  the  same  as  that  of  grooved  tools.  In  Si- 
beria, Alaska,  and  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  where  the 
adze  is  common,  hammers  are  hafted  in  this  same  way,  but 
in  the  Pueblo  and  Plains  regions  the  tendency  is  to  twine 
the  handle  around  the  entire  tool.  Then,  in  the  eastern 
maize  area  the  grooved  ax  again  bears  the  hafting  shoulder, 
as  also  seems  to  be  the  case  in  Ecuador. 

That  east  of  the  Mississippi,  celts  were  hafted  and  used 
as  axes  is  clear  from  a few  specimens  found  in  swamps,® 
In  these  cases,  the  wedge-shaped  top  of  the  celt  is  put  in  a 
hole  through  the  wooden  handle. 

The  other  most  important  group  of  tools  is  that  passing 
under  the  name  of  knife.  From  the  Eskimo,  particularly  in 
Alaska,  we  have  a knife  for  carving  formed  by  setting  a 
small  flake  in  the  lower  edge  of  a bone  handle.  Similar 
knives  have  been  found  along  the  Upper  Missouri,10  the 
significance  of  which  is  not  clear.  Among  the  Eskimo  on 
the  North  Pacific  Coast,  and  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
eastern  maize  area,  we  find  knives  of  slate,  a material  which 
takes  a very  keen  edge,  but  does  not  wear  well.  The  semi- 
lunar knife  of  the  Eskimo  is  usually  of  slate  and  is  found 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley  as  well.  In  Peru,  we  find  the 
same  form  in  copper  and  bronze.  Chipped  blades  were  used 
as  knives  in  all  parts  of  both  continents.  The  large,  fine, 
obsidian  blades  of  Mexico  are  the  most  famous. 

An  implement  of  unique  character  is  the  pitted  hammer- 
stone,  the  precise  distribution  of  which  cannot  be  stated.11 
The  stone  pestle  is  essentially  a hand  hammer,  and  is  found 
in  all  parts  of  the  northern  continent,  except  possibly  in 
the  heart  of  the  bison  and  caribou  areas.  Detached  stone 
mortars  are  a feature  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  though  in  Cali- 
fornia they  are  usually  mere  holes  in  large  boulders.  In  the 


WORK  IN  STONE 


125 


interior  and  the  east  stone  mortars  are  rare.  Both  in  the 
Plains  and  in  California,  we  find  flat  stones  with  skin  and 
basketry  hoppers,  respectively.  In  the  eastern  maize  area 
the  mortars  were  usually  of  wood,  as  also  in  eastern  South 
America, 

A particularly  characteristic  object  in  the  culture  of  the 
New  World  is  the  stone  pipe,  the  forms  and  distributions  of 
which  have  been  extensively  treated  by  McGuire.12  In  the 
main,  there  are  two  types  of  stone  pipe,  the  common  or  el- 
bow form,  and  the  tubular  pipe.  The  former  has  a wide 
distribution  over  the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States,  ex- 
tending into  Canada  and  northwestward  to  the  Pacific.  It 
does  not  occur  with  any  frequency  in  the  West  Indies  and 
northern  South  America,  but  is  fairly  abundant  in  eastern 
Brazil  and  Argentina.  The  tubular  stone  pipe,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  found  in  the  western  part  of  the  United  States  and 
is  the  exclusive  form  in  the  highland  region  from  British 
Columbia  to  the  Rio  Grande;  it  is  even  occasionally  met 
with  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  However,  in  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico,  it  begins  to  give  way  to  the  tube  of  cane  which 
prevails  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  (Fig.  6).  The 
center  of  development  for  highly  carved  stone  pipes  is  the 
eastern  half  of  the  Mississippi  drainage. 

Of  special  and  frequently  problematical  stone  objects  we 
have  a long  list.  In  North  America,  the  bannerstone  and 
the  discoidal  are  common  on  the  Atlantic  side.  The  Colum- 
bia River  Valley  also  presents  a large  number  of  curiosities, 
such  as  stone  weights,  tool  handles,  monkey  heads,  etc.,  per- 
haps a greater  variety  than  any  other  region.  In  the  An- 
tilles we  have  large,  curious  rings  or  collars,  and  in  Mexico, 
yokes.  Central  America  yields  carved  jadeite  celts  and  ani- 
mal-shaped metates.  From  Ecuador  come  large  stone  seats 
and  from  Peru  curious  carvings  in  stone,  suggesting  ap- 
pliances for  a game  of  chance.  The  small  area  about  Cata- 
marca,  Argentina,  produces  a curious  mace-like  abject  and 


126 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


in  eastern  South  America  we  find  a large,  finely  formed  ax. 
The  distribution  of  these  forms  presents  many  interesting 
problems  for  which  the  reader  must  turn  to  the  special  lit- 
erature. 

Among  questions  of  wider  interest  is  that  of  steatite 
work.  The  making  of  steatite  vessels  was  a prominent  in- 
dustry on  the  Atlantic  side  of  North  America.  In  New 
England  and  Virginia,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  aboriginal 
quarries  are  found,  together  with  tools  and  vessels  in  all 


Fig.  So.  Knives  of  Copper  from  the  Eskimo  of  North  America  and 
the  Inca  of  Peru,  respectively 


stages  of  completion,  giving  us  a complete  view  of  the  in- 
dustry. The  art  is  also  highly  developed  among  the  Eskimo 
of  the  east.  The  apparent  former  southern  extension  of 
the  Eskimo  into  New  England  raises  the  question  as  to  a 
possible  historical  relation  between  them  and  their  Indian 
(Algonkin)  neighbors,  which,  while  not  altogether  prob- 
able, deserves  study.  Again,  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  especially 
in  California,  we  find  large,  globular  vessels  and  other 
forms. 

In  closing,  it  may  be  noted  that  in  the  New  World  is  the 
place  where  we  get  the  most  complete  data  as  to  the  meth- 


WORK  IN  STONE 


127 


ods  of  hafting  stone  tools.  While  in  Neolithic  Europe  axes 
were  perforated,  as  is  still  the  case  with  us,  uo  such  method 
was  known  here.  It  is  true  that  a few  South  American 
forms  were  drilled,  but  not  in  a way  to  permit  of  similar 
hafting.  Even  the  metal-using  aborigines  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  simply  set  the  blade  into  a mortise  in  the  handle,  sug- 
gesting that  the  hafted  celt  was  the  original  and  most  fun- 
damental New  World  ax  form. 

When  we  examine  the  total  distribution  of  the  stone  ob- 
jects we  have  discussed,  we  find  them  not  particularly  nu- 
merous in  the  caribou  and  bison  areas  of  the  north  and  the 
guanaco  and  Amazon  areas  of  the  south.  This  may,  in  part, 
be  due  to  lack  of  systematic  collecting,  especially  in  the 
Amazon  country,  but  in  the  remaining  regions  we  have  the 
great  hunting  areas  of  the  New  World  where  bone  is  the 
prevailing  tool  material.  For  example,  the  Dene  tribes  of 
Canada  seem  to  have  used  stone  very  rarely,  even  their 
arrows  were  tipped  with  bone.  Likewise,  antler-tipped  ar- 
rows were  very  common  in  the  North  Atlantic  states. 
Among  the  bison  hunters,  bone  points  were  also  in  general 
use,  though  stone  was  not  unknown.  The  use  of  bone  awls, 
wedges,  drills,  knives,  and  even  celts  were  common  in  all 
these  hunting  areas. 

Collections  from  excavations  in  Alaska  and  from  the 
vicinity  of  New  York  Bay  give  us  sufficient  samples  of  un- 
finished bone  and  antler  objects  to  indicate  the  processes  by 
which  these  materials  were  worked.  These  processes  were 
about  the  same  in  the  two  areas : linear  pieces  were  removed 
by  grooving  and  breaking;  cutting  was  by  sawing  or  hack- 
ing deep  notches,  then  breaking.  On  the  whole,  the  art 
seems  most  intense  among  the  Eskimo,  and  in  comparison 
with  North  America,  the  southern  continent  appears  rather 
weaker  in  bone  work,  particularly  in  the  simpler  culture  of 
Tierra  del  Fuego.  Again,  in  the  Antilles  we  find  the  thick 
part  of  shells  used  for  making  celts  and  other  tools. 


128 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Of  ornaments,  pendants,  and  beads,  there  are  great  varie- 
ties of  various  materials  from  both  continents.  Even  pearl 
beads  were  extensively  used  by  the  Ohio  mound  builders. 

MINES  AND  QUARRIES 

Under  the  general  head  of  materials  dug  from  the  earth, 
we  have  an  important  series  of  archaeological  topics.  Not- 
withstanding that  many  of  these  aboriginal  mining  opera- 
tions must  have  survived  well  down  into  the  period  of  col- 
onization, none  was  carefully  observed  by  explorers.  In 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  copper,  cinnabar,  ocher,  salt, 
alum,  clay,  steatite,  flint  and  other  flakable  stones,  catlinite, 
turquoise,  coal  (for  making  ornaments),  and  mica  were  dug 
out.  Practically  all  such  operations  were  confined  to  the 
eastern  maize  area  and  the  Pueblo  habitat.  South  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  and  in  the  Andean 
region,  gold,  copper,  tin,  silver,  and  platinum  were  worked. 
Here  also,  stone-quarrying  operations  were  extensive,  but 
outside  of  the  Andean  highlands  we  have  practically  no 
evidence  of  mining  or  quarrying  in  South  America. 

Archaeological  interest  centers  chiefly  in  flint  workings 
and  copper  mining.  In  the  case  of  the  former,  we  have  sites 
where  a large  part  of  the  surface  has  been  dug  over  for 
quartzite  and  other  nodular  forms.  Of  such  sites  the  best 
known  is  that  studied  by  Holmes  at  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia.13  The  most  extensive  diggings  seem  to  be  those 
explored  by  Smith  in  Wyoming,  which  appear  as  part  of  a 
chain  reaching  into  Oklahoma,  Other  noted  sites  are  Flint 
Ridge,  Ohio;  Mill  Creek,  Illinois;  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas; 
and  two  in  Pennsylvania,  In  some  of  these  the  pits  reach 
a depth  of  twenty  feet.  The  natives  usually  worked  out  the 
“blanks”  on  the  spot,  leaving  behind  a great  mass  of  chips 
among  which  the  archaeologist  finds  many  rejects  and  aban- 
doned forms. 

Some  fairly  successful  attempts  have  been  made  to  trace 


WORK  IN  METALS 


129 


the  materials  of  which  stone  implements  are  made  to  par- 
ticular known  diggings,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  na- 
tives made  long  journeys  for  this  purpose.  The  method  has, 
however,  not  been  carried  far  enough  to  bring  definite  re- 
sults. Some  recent  studies  for  the  lower  Hudson  show 
that  we  have  here  a very  important  method  from  which 
much  may  be  expected  in  the  future. 

Outside  the  regions  of  high  culture  the  only  important 
copper  workings  were  those  of  Lake  Superior.  Free  copper 
was  gathered  in  many  places,  particularly,  west  of  Hudson 
Bay  and  in  Alaska,  but  no  evidences  of  extensive  mining 
have  come  to  hand  for  these  sections.  As  just  stated,  very 
extensive  workings  have  been  noted  at  Lake  Superior,  from 
which  stone  hammers  to  the  weight  of  twenty-six  pounds 
have  been  collected  in  the  ancient  pits;  in  one  instance  a 
wooden  shovel,  a bowl  and  a ladder  were  recovered.  The 
aboriginal  method  of  taking  out  the  virgin  copper  seems  to 
have  been  cracking  by  heat,  breaking  and  wedging.  In  one 
pit  twenty-six  feet  deep  a six-ton  piece  of  copper  had  been 
worked  out  and  raised  five  feet  on  an  incline  of  logs  by 
wedging;  most  of  the  supporting  timbers  and  wedges  were 
still  in  place.14 

Some  copper  may  have  been  mined  in  the  Pueblo  region 
before  Spanish  days,  but  we  have  no  data  as  to  methods. 
Our  knowledge  of  operations  in  Mexico  and  Peru  is 
equally  vague,  though  here  they  must  have  been  prosecuted 
on  a far  larger  and  more  systematic  scale. 

METAL  WORK 

Lake  Superior  copper  needed  but  to  be  beaten  into  shape 
and  was,  therefore,  an  ideal  primitive  metal.  Particularly 
in  Wisconsin  we  find  copper  duplicates  of  the  most  im- 
portant stone  tools,  which  are  less  intensively  distributed 
over  the  whole  of  the  eastern  maize  area.  However,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  mines,  we  encounter  a few  depar- 


I3° 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


tures  from  stone  tool  models,  suggesting  that  the  copper- 
working art  had  begun  a development  of  its  own.  The  most 
curious  of  these  is  a socketed  ax  reminding  one  of  certain 
bronze  axes  found  in  Europe.15 

No  satisfactory  evidence  of  casting  or  even  beating  in  dies 
has  been  found  for  regions  north  of  Mexico.  Ingenious  ex- 
periments by  Cushing 16  and  others  have  demonstrated  the 
possibility  of  making  all  the  objects  so  far  found  here  with 
the  most  primitive  tools.  Stefansson17  collected  specimens 
from  Coronation  Gulf,  showing  long,  slender  rods  fashioned 
by  beating  together  thin  sheets  of  copper. 

A very  important  problem  is  that  of  tracing  out  the  dis- 
tribution of  Lake  Superior  copper.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  most  of  the  copper  objects  found  in  Ohio  and  eastward 
came  from  this  source,  but  the  source  of  supply  for  the  Gulf 
states  is  not  so  clear,  since  some  copper  was  to  be  found  in 
the  Appalachian  chain. 

Now  turning  to  the  region  of  higher  culture,  we  have  the 
best  data  from  Peru,  where  ore  was  smelted  in  small  pot- 
tery furnaces  into  which  the  operator  blew  through  copper 
tubes.  However,  some  ores,  particularly  silver,  required 
greater  heat  and  for  such,  large  hopper-like  pottery  fur- 
naces were  set  up  on  high  hills  where  the  wind  would  create 
a draft.  At  the  various  intakes  to  these  furnaces,  fires  were 
placed  to  heat  the  air,  a mechanism  employed  by  some  Old 
World  smelters. 

Another  question  of  great  interest  is  the  use  of  bronze  in 
the  New  World.  The  fact  that  implements  contain  tin,  but 
in  varying  quantities,  has  led  to  the  theory  that  the  appear- 
ance of  bronze  is  merely  accidental  or  due  to  the  natural 
mixtures  in  the  ore.  This  view  has  received  its  strongest 
support  from  analytic  studies  of  Peruvian  copper  tools, 
which  reveal  a lack  of  any  consistent  correlation  between 
the  amount  of  tin  contained  and  the  use  for  which  the  ob- 
ject was  designed.  Still,  the  investigations  of  Mead 18  have 


WORK  IN  METALS 


131 

shown  that  the  percentage  of  tin  is  often  too  great  to  be 
attributed  to  natural  mixtures  in  the  ore,  and  those  of 
Mathewson 19  suggest  that  there  is  a correlation  between  the 
difficulty  of  casting  tools  of  different  forms  and  the  amount 
of  tin  they  contain.  According  to  this  view,  the  amount  of 
tin  added  was  an  index  of  the  casting  process  and  was  not 
added  to  harden  the  tool.  Microscopic  studies  of  typical 
tools  also  show  that  the  combination  of  tin  and  copper  was 
often  made  in  the  melting  pot  and  not  in  the  smelter.  We 
may,  therefore,  consider  it  as  settled  that  the  art  of  making 
bronze  was  known  in  the  New  World,  though  the  real  pur- 
pose of  the  process  may  have  been  the  facilitation  of  casting. 

In  both  Mexico  and  the  Andean  countries  of  South  Amer- 
ica, gold  and  silver  were  skilfully  worked  by  casting,  solder- 
ing, hammering,  and  inlaying.20  The  graves  and  sacred 
lakes  of  the  Andes  still  yield  very  fine  examples  of  this  art, 
most  of  which  are  melted  down  to  be  sold  as  bullion.  From 
Ecuador,  we  have  a few  examples  of  gold  objects  overlaid 
with  platinum,  which  shows  how  truly  meritorious  were  the 
aboriginal  metal  working  arts  of  the  New  World. 


1.  Holmes,  1897.  I;  1919.  I. 

2.  Spencer  and  Gillen,  1899.  I. 

3.  Boas,  1909.  I. 

4.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1900.  I. 

5.  Rau,  1873.  I. 

6.  Boas,  1909.  I. 

7.  Moorehead,  1910.  I. 

8.  Laufer,  1912.  I. 

9.  Skinner,  1909.  I. 

10.  Brower,  1904.  I. 


11.  Moorehead,  1910.  I. 

12.  McGuire,  1899.  I. 

13.  Holmes,  1897.  I. 

14.  Holmes,  1901.  I. 

15.  Moorehead,  1910.  I. 

16.  Cushing,  1895.  I. 

17.  Stefansson,  1914.  I. 

18.  Mead,  1915.  I. 

19.  Mathewson,  1915.  I. 

20.  Saville,  1920.  I. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
SPECIAL  INVENTIONS 

There  remain  a great  array  of  culture  traits  we  have 
not  noted,  such  as  machinery,  fire-making,  lamps,  weapons, 
musical  instruments,  fermentation,  glues  and  cements,  paper, 
dyes  and  paints,  woodwork,  maps,  astronomical  knowledge, 
writing,  poisons,  medicine,  surgery  and  anatomical  knowl- 
edge, etc.  For  descriptive  details  on  these  topics,  the  reader 
must  turn  to  the  standard  books  of  reference.  Few  of  these 
subjects  have  been  developed  to  a point  whereby  significant 
problems  arise  and  the  only  function  their  discussion  could 
now  serve  would  be  the  increasing  of  our  wonder  at  the 
complexity  of  aboriginal  life.  Therefore,  we  shall  refer  to 
vbut  a small  number  of  them. 

One  of  the  most  fundamental  traits  in  which  the  old  cul- 
ture of  Asia  outstripped  the  New  World  was  the  develop- 
ment of  the  wheel  and  revolving  machinery.  Yet,  we  have 
noted  the  spindle  whorl  and  find  certain  kinds  of  drills  that 
embody  a kind  of  wheel  concept.  However,  among  the  Es- 
kimo we  find  drills  turned  by  a strap  pulled  back  and  forth 
and  also  operated  by  a strong  bow.  This  gives  a reciprocat- 
ing motion  which  is  the  principle  in  old  Asiatic  drills  and 
lathes.1  The  geographical  position  of  the  Eskimo  makes  it 
probable  that  we  have  in  this  a case  of  relatively  recent  bor- 
rowing from  the  Old  World.  The  only  other  New  World 
localities  in  which  these  forms  of  drilling  occur  are  among 
the  Northern  Algonkin.  From  the  native  sketches  in  Mexi- 
can codices  and  the  references  of  early  writers,  we  infer  that 
the  universal  mode  of  drilling  was  by  rolling  between  the 
palms  of  the  hands.  Even  the  Peruvians  seem  never  to  have 

132 


SPECIAL  INVENTIONS 


133 


risen  above  this  method.  Yet,  we  have  four  problematic 
localities  in  which  forms  of  the  Old  World  pumpdrill  oc- 
cur: the  Iroquois,  Pueblos,  Round  Valley  Indians  of  Cali- 
fornia,  and  the  North  Pacific  Coast.  In  the  case  of  the 
former,  we  cannot  be  sure  that  this  drill  was  not  introduced 


by  European  colonists,  and  as  archaeological  data  from  the 
Southwest  give  no  trace  of  it,  we  may  regard  its  presence 
there  as  of  Spanish  origin.  Again,  the  California  drill  is 
operated  on  a slightly  different  principle,  and  its  very  lim- 
ited distribution  suggests  its  intrusion.  If  these  forms  of 


134 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


the  pumpdrill  are  truly  independent  inventions,  they  are 
evidently  recent,  for  they  would  with  time  have  spread  over 
large  areas.  In  short,  we  are  justified  in  assuming  that  the 
rotating  tool  or  wheel  had  no  place  in  the  original  mechan- 
ical concepts  of  the  New  World. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  discoveries  ever  made  by  man 
was  that  fire  could  be  kindled  at  will.  The  great  English 
anthropologist,  Tylor,  has  given  us  a model  study  of  fire- 
making.2 It  appears  that  in  aboriginal  times  practically  the 
whole  of  the  New  World  kindled  fire  with  the  simple  hand- 
drill.3  Only  among  the  Eskimo  and  a few  of  the  adjoining 
Indians  were  other  types  of  drill  in  use,  as  may  be  inferred 
from  the  preceding  discussion.  To  strike  fire  from  flint  one 
must  have  good  iron,  preferably  steel,  hence,  that  method 
was  unknown  here ; but  nature  provides  a fair  substitute  in 
iron  pyrites  to  which  the  Eskimo  frequently  resort  and 
which  is  the  prevailing  method  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
caribou  area.  It  is  sometimes  believed  that  this  is  intrusive 
from  the  Old  World,  but  it  is  also  the  method  in  the  gua- 
naco  area  of  South  America,  which  suggests  that  the  cause 
may  be  environmental. 

Another  invention  of  great  significance  is  the  art  of  writ- 
ing. So  far  as  we  can  tell,  no  form  of  writing  was  practised 
in  South  America,  that  achievement  appearing  to  be  a Maya 
contribution.  The  codices  of  Mexico  and  their  official  use 
at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  are  a matter  of  common  know- 
ledge, but  the  more  definite  extinct  Maya  system  of  writing 
presents  one  of  the  great  puzzles  of  our  subject.4  Some 
progress  has  been  made  in  recovering  the  key  to  it,  in  so 
far  as  the  calendar  and  dates  are  concerned.  From  these, 
it  appears  that  the  Maya  system  is  both  pictographic  and 
phonetic  and  that  the  Mexican  scheme  was  in  the  main  de- 
rived from  it. 

North  of  Mexico  the  existence  of  true  writing  may  be 
doubted.  In  the  pictographic  year  counts  of  certain  tribes 


SPECIAL  INVENTIONS 


135 


of  Plains  Indians,5  we  find  something  faintly  suggesting  the 
Mexican  codex,  and  in  the  birchbark  ceremonial  tablets  of 
the  O jibway  we  have  true  picture  writing.  Yet,  in  no  case 
did  such  picture  writing  become  an  accepted  mode  of  com- 
munication, its  function  usually  being  merely  to  herald  the 
deeds  of  the  scribe.  By  this  means,  however,  were  devel- 
oped a few  conventional  characters  that  were  equivalent  to 
hieroglyphs.6 

Yet,  if  the  Inca  of  Peru  did  not  have  writing,  they  did 
have  a scheme  of  knotted  cords,  or  quipu , the  methods  of 
which  have  been  inductively  worked  out  by  Locke.7  From 
this  study  it  appears  that  the  quipu  could  have  served  no 
other  purpose  than  that  of  recording  numbers.  In  fact, 
from  the  Spanish  authors  and  the  modern  survivals  of  these 
knotted  cord  records,  we  know  that  the  quipu  were  used  to 
keep  accounts.  Mr.  Locke’s  careful  study  of  specimens  in 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  of  New  York 
demonstrates  that  the  numerical  system  upon  which  the 
quipu  were  based  was  decimal.  Further,  an  empirical  anal- 
ysis of  the  knots  on  the  several  cords  shows  them  to  have 
definite  numerical  relations  from  which  we  infer  that  the 
quipu  were  instruments  of  enumeration  only.  It  is  scarcely 
conceivable  that  they  could  have  been  used  for  the  recording 
of  other  facts.  Hence,  the  oft-repeated  statement  that  they 
were  used  to  record  historic  narratives  or  as  mnemonic  sys- 
tems for  the  same,  are  unwarranted. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  we  should  note  one  very  re- 
markable achievement  by  the  Maya.  This  was  no  less  than 
the  discovery  and  use  of  the  zero  in  mathematics.8  In  the 
Old  World,  this  important  contribution  to  our  culture  was 
invented  by  an  Asiatic  people,  probably  a Hindu  group, 
from  whom  it  found  its  way  into  Europe.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  appears  in  ancient  Maya.  The  very  isolation  of 
these  two  discoveries  suggests  their  independent  invention, 
but  irrespective  of  this  interpretation,  the  use  of  the  zero 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


136 

in  the  New  World  gives  its  people  a high  place  in  culture. 

Though  somewhat  of  a diversion,  we  may  at  this  point 
note  the  making  of  bark  cloth  and  paper.  In  Mexico,  where 
writing  was  practised,  good  paper  was  made  of  amatl  bark 
and,  when  this  was  not  available,  of  maguey  fiber.  The 
latter  was  covered  with  thin  animal  membranes,  reminding 
one  of  parchment.  Outside  of  Mexico  and  Central  Amer- 
ica, no  paper  was  used,  but  some  bark  garments  were  made 
in  the  forest  regions  of  South  America.  In  this  connec- 
tion an  interesting  point  is  raised  by  the  ridged  bark-beater 
of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  an  implement  which  re- 
minds one  of  the  tool  used  by  the  tapa  makers  of  the  Pacific 
Islands.  Then,  far  up  on  the  west  coast  of  North  America, 
the  natives  shred  cedarbark  for  weaving  by  beating  with  a 
similar  ridged  tool.  We  have  here  another  very  puzzling 
problem  arising  from  the  scattered  distribution  of  an  indus- 
trial process. 

Another  item  of  importance  is  astronomical  knowledge 
and  methods  of  reckoning  time.  Of  the  South  American 
system,  we  know  next  to  nothing,  but  that  of  the  Maya  ex- 
cites our  unbounded  admiration.  It  is  a veritable  mathe- 
matical puzzle  of  the  most  ingenious  kind.9  That  it  was 
based  upon  careful  astronomical  study  is  clear  from  the 
corrections  made  for  the  odd  five  days  in  the  year.  The 
religion  of  the  Maya,  Nahua,  and  Inca  was  largely  based 
upon  star  gods  and  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
itself  implying  very  exact  astronomical  knowledge. 

North  of  Mexico,  methods  of  reckoning  time  are  very 
crude,  though  apparently  strongest  among  the  Pueblo  and 
adjacent  Plains  tribes.  Some  of  the  latter  kept  moon  counts 
by  tally  sticks  and  scored  the  years  by  winters,  but  this  was 
quite  perfunctory.  So  far  as  we  know,  the  northern  limits 
of  this  influence  are  near  the  Ohio  River,  the  whole  distri- 
bution suggesting  that  it  is  a phenomenon  of  diffusion  from 
the  centers  of  higher  culture. 


SPECIAL  INVENTIONS 


132 


Perhaps  the  next  most  significant  topic  in  our  list  is  that 
of  weapons.  Some  very  engaging  problems  center  around 
the  bow,  harpoon,  spear,  shield,  sling,  ax,  sword,  blowgun, 
and  defensive  armor.  Practically  all  have  been  made  the 
subjects  of  special  study.  Thus,  defensive  armor  of  wood 
and  hide  has  been  studied  by  Hough,  who  for  one  thing 
favors  a Japanese  origin  for  North  American  plate  armor.10 
This  subject  has  been  more  exhaustively  treated  by  Laufer11 


Fig.  52.  Wooden  Slat  Armor,  British  Columbia.  Teit,  1900. 1 


who  demonstrates  the  improbability  of  its  Japanese  origin 
since  this  type  of  armor  appears  in  other  parts  of  Asia  be- 
fore it  was  known  in  Japan,  particularly  among  the  wilder 
tribes,  suggesting  that  we  may  yet  find  a much  earlier  his- 
torical connection  between  the  plate  armor  of  the  New 
World  and  the  Old.  Yet,  while  it  is  true  that  wooden 
armor  is  found  only  on  the  upper  Pacific  side,  cotton  armor 
was  worn  in  Mexico  and  in  Peru,  often  reinforced  with 
metal.  In  recent  times,  at  least,  some  forms  of  armor  were 
used  by  the  Araucanians  and  Abipones  of  Chile  and  Ar- 
gentina. 

While  shields  of  wicker  and  cane  were  widely  used  in 
the  area  of  intense  culture  and  in  the  eastern  maize  area, 
the  small  circular  shield  seems  to  have  centered  in  Mexico. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


138 

Among  the  Pueblo  and  Plains  tribes,  a similar  shield  of 
bison  hide  appears,  whose  decorations  are  quite  like  those 
of  ancient  Mexico.  Since  the  restricted  distribution  of  the 
circular  shield  is  geographically  continuous,  we  may  assume 
for  it  a single  origin.  In  Peru,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  re- 
ported that  shields  were  rectangular;  yet,  from  the  pottery 
collection  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  it 
appears  that  in  figures  of  warriors  the  shields  are  more 
often  circular.  The  devices  upon  these  are  usually  simple 
and  geometric,  with  feathers  and  pendants  entirely  absent. 

A case  of  some  theoretical  interest  is  the  blowgun,  found 
among  the  forest  Indians  of  eastern  South  America,  in  the 
Antilles,  and  even  in  eastern  United  States,  the  Iroquois  of 
New  York  being  the  most  northern  point  in  its  distribution. 
The  somewhat  analogous  distribution  of  this  weapon  in 
Asia  gives  us  one  of  the  most  probable  cases  of  independent 
invention. 

Finally,  we  may  turn  to  the  bow.  Its  use  appears  to  have 
been  universal  from  the  Eskimo  of  the  north  to  the  simple 
Fuegians  of  the  south.  Though  in  the  historic  horse  cul- 
ture of  the  guanaco  area  it  was  not  used,  the  evidence  for  its 
former  use  there  is  generally  considered  as  conclusive. 
However,  the  tendency  of  the  great  military  cultures  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  seems  to  have  been  toward  mass  fighting 
hand  to  hand,  with  swords  and  clubs.  We  notice  the  same 
thing  among  the  Haida  and  other  strong  tribes  of  the  north- 
west coast.  In  other  words,  as  in  the  Old  World,  it  was  the 
less  organized,  more  nomadic  peoples  who  made  most  ef- 
fective use  of  the  bow. 

One  point  of  particular  interest  is  the  sinew  reinforced 
bow,  the  highest  type  of  which  is  found  in  Asia.12  In 
various  forms  it  covers  the  highlands  of  North  America 
well  down  into  Mexico,  but  did  not  reach  far  into  the 
eastern  maize  area.  The  Eskimo  also  had  this  bow  in  sev- 
eral forms,  those  of  the  west  being  more  like  the  Asiatic 


SPECIAL  INVENTIONS  139 

type.  Now,  as  this  structural  concept  does  not  appear  in 
South  America,13  we  have  the  suggestion  of  an  Asiatic  in- 
trusion. This  does  not,  however,  apply  to  the  bow  trait  as 
a whole,  for  its  distribution  carries  it  into  the  most  remote 
marginal  areas,  and  along  with  it  the  notched  arrow-head. 
Thus  bow  culture,  in  general,  seems  best  explained  as  a trait 
brought  in  by  the  earliest  visitors  to  the  New  World. 
Among  the  curiosities  is  the  pellet-shooting  bow  of  Brazil 
which  has  its  parallel  in  Asia,  frequently  cited  as  another 
clear  case  of  independent  invention.  Yet  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  this  bow  was  introduced  into  Brazil 
by  Portuguese  sailors  and  so  not  in  any  sense  invented  by 
the  natives;14  the  limited  distribution  of  this  bow  alone 
suggests  its  recent  appearance. 


1.  Rau,  1873.  I. 

2.  Tylor,  1889.  I. 

3.  Hough,  1890'.  I. 

4.  Morley,  1915.  I. 

5.  Mooney,  1898.  I. 

6.  Wissler,  1911.  I. 

7.  Locke,  1912.  I. 


8.  Spinden,  1917.  I. 

9.  Morley,  1915.  I. 

10.  Hough,  1893.  I. 

11.  Laufer,  1914.  II. 

12.  Mason,  1894.  I. 

13.  Meyer,  1898.  I. 

14.  Nordenskiold,  1920.  I. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  FINE  ARTS 

No  doubt  many  readers  will  object  to  the  title  we  have 
given  this  chapter  on  the  ground  that  no  aboriginal  produc- 
tion can  rise  to  the  level  of  an  actual  “fine  art,”  but  we  feel 
that  the  name  is  justified  because  the  productions  here  con- 
sidered occupy  the  same  place  in  aboriginal  life  as  do  the 
fine  arts  in  Europe.  They  may  be  comprehended  under  the 
familiar  heads  of  sculpture,  painting,  literature,  and  music. 

As  we  have  indicated  before,  the  center  of  New  World 
sculpture  was  Yucatan,  where  stone  carving  is  one  of  the 
most  distinctive  traits  of  Maya  culture.  True  stone  carv- 
ing is  rare  in  South  America.  The  Peruvians  did  next  to 
nothing  of  this  sort;  in  fact,  the  only  two  places  where  stone 
carving  rises  to  an  observable  level  are  in  the  extreme  south- 
ern limits  of  Inca  influence  and  again  in  Colombia,  where 
we  have  the  isolated  statues  of  St.  Augustine.  In  North 
America,  no  stone  carving  worthy  of  the  name  occurs  north 
of  the  Rio  Grande.  Thus,  the  ancient  Maya  cities  consti- 
tute the  center  of  the  sculptor’s  art,  which  fringes  out  in 
northern  Mexico  above  and  in  Panama  below.  Although 
the  carving  of  small  objects  in  stone  reached  a very  high 
level  in  the  West  Indies,  it  can  scarcely  be  ranked  as  sculp- 
ture. Even  the  Aztec  and  other  antecedent  Mexican  cul- 
tures which  produced  a fair  amount  of  stone  carving  have 
not  left  behind  evidences  of  sculptural  skill  strictly  compar- 
able to  those  of  the  Maya.  Students  of  aboriginal  art 
claim  that  the  Maya  development  came  before  the  Aztec 
but  that  the  influence  of  the  latter  is  plainly  seen  in  the 
later  Maya.1  For  example,  the  well  known  Chacmool 

140 


SCULPTURE 


141 

statue  found  at  Chichen  Itza  is  said  to  represent  a Nahua 
type,  examples  of  which  have  been  found  in  several  parts  of 


Fig.  53.  Two  Figures  from  Palenque,  Chiapas.  Spinden,  1913. 1 


Mexico  and  also  in  Salvador,  south  of  the  Maya.  These 
statues  are,  however,  fairly  representative  of  aboriginal 
sculpture  for  human  figures,  but  do  not  reach  the  level  of 


142 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


the  best  Maya  work,  of  which  the  great  turtles  of  Quirigua 
may  be  cited  as  examples.  However,  Maya  sculpture  is 
usually  in  low  relief,  sometimes  little  more  than  drawing. 
Among  the  numerous  examples  that  have  been  brought  to 


Fig.  54.  Statues  of  the  Chacmool  Type.  The  upper  one  from  Mexico, 
the  lower  from  Yucatan.  Sanchez,  1877. 1 


notice  are  the  masterpieces  shown  in  the  drawings.  The 
curious  form  of  forehead  appearing  in  all  figures  is  not 
wholly  conventional,  but  is  a good  representation  of  the  ef- 
fects of  head  flattening  practised  upon  infants.  Like  the 


Fig.  55.  A Sculptured  Turtle  at  Quingua , Guatemala 

Spinden,  1913.  I 


LITERATURE 


143 


Greeks  and  other  classical  sculptors,  the  Maya  colored  their 
carved  figures.  On  the  other  hand,  in  contrast  to  the  marble 
of  the  Greeks,  the  stones  at  the  disposal  of  the  Maya  were 
very  inferior  and  were  worked  entirely  with  stone  tools. 

Outside  of  the  sculpture  area  as  defined  above,  rock  in- 
scriptions and  drawings  are  numerous,  particularly  in  the 
northern  continent.  Most  of  these  pictographs  are  obvi- 
ously recent,  but  no  one  has  studied  them  with  sufficient 
care  to  suggest  a chronological  grouping. 

Closely  allied  with  sculpture,  in  our  minds,  at  least,  is 
modeling  in  clay.  We  have  already  noted  this  art  in  the 
chapter  on  ceramics.  Very  good  examples,  in  some  cases  of 
respectable  size,  are  found  in  both  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  The  Inca  culture  of  Peru,  which  did  not  success- 
fully carve  stone,  did  nevertheless,  reach  a high  level  in  clay 
modeling,  but  apparently  limited  its  work  to  small  vessels 
and  figures.  At  least,  we  find  nothing  like  the  large  clay 
figures  from  Mexico. 

Painting  in  the  New  World  never  rose  above  flat  tones, 
but  the  drawing  is  often  good.  Many  examples  have  been 
preserved  in  the  codex  collections  from  Mexican  and  Maya 
cultures,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  has  come  down  to  us  from 
the  Andean  region.  Of  the  historic  peoples,  the  Eskimo 
seem  to  lead  in  graphic  skill,  though  they  are,  perhaps, 
equalled  by  the  Dakota.2  Elsewhere  drawing  is  rather 
crude. 

LITERATURE 

Every  student  of  our  subject  feels  a keen  regret  that  so 
few  fragments  of  Inca,  Maya,  and  Aztec  literature  have 
survived,  for  there  is  just  enough  to  show  that  a consid- 
erable advance  had  been  made.  To  most  of  us  the  term  lit- 
erature implies  printed  works,  but  we  are  here  using  the 
term  in  the  broadest  sense,  for  literature  arose  and  took 
many  of  its  essential  forms  before  attempts  were  made  to 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


144 

write  it.  There  is  fair  evidence  that  the  Inca  cultivated 
the  drama.  Thus  Garcilasso,3  himself  of  Inca  descent, 
states  that  they  “composed  both  tragedies  and  comedies, 
which  were  represented  before  the  Inca  and  his  court  on 
solemn  occasions.  The  subject  matter  of  the  tragedy  re- 
lated to  military  deeds  and  the  victories  of  former  times; 
while  the  arguments  of  the  comedies  were  on  agricultural 
and  familiar  household  subjects.  They  understood  the  com- 
position of  long  and  short  verses,  with  the  right  number  of 
syllables  in  each.”  4 

Markham  finds  evidence  of  “four  different  kinds  of  plays 
called  Anay  Sauca,  a joyous  representation,  Hayachuca, 
Llama-Uama,  a farce,  and  Hanamsi,  a tragedy.  There  is 
clear  proof  that  the  memory  of  the  old  dramatic  lore  was 
preserved,  and  that  the  dramas  were  handed  down  by  mem- 
ory even  after  the  Spanish  conquest.  It  is  to  be  found  in 
the  sentence  pronounced  on  the  rebels  at  Cuzco,  by  the  Judge 
Areche,  in  1781,  which  prohibited  "the  representation  of 
dramas,  as  well  as  all  other  festivals  which  the  Indians  cele- 
brated in  memory  of  their  Incas.’  ” 5 

A few  complete  plays  have  been  recorded  in  later  times, 
the  most  famous  of  which  is  Ollantay.  As  to  what  effect 
the  intervening  years  of  Spanish  control  had  upon  the  lit- 
erary form  of  these  productions  is  now  a matter  of  debate. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  Markham’s  translation  6 and  dis- 
cussion for  a statement  of  the  case,  and  to  our  page  147 
for  a selection  of  Inca  verse. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  early  peoples  of  Mex- 
ico also  had  achieved  something  in  the  dramatic  art,  though 
good  examples  have  not  survived.  Even  among  the  Pueblo 
villages  of  the  United  States  there  are  still  native  festivals 
in  which  there  appear  performances  that  deserve  recogni- 
tion as  dramas.7  This  is  true,  to  a less  degree,  of  certain 
ceremonies  among  the  outlying  tribes  of  both  continents. 

While  the  content  we  have  given  to  the  term  literature  is 


LITERATURE 


145 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


146 

far  wider  than  the  modern  concept  of  books,8  the  Maya  and 
Aztec  did  have  some  written  literature.  Brinton  quotes  the 
Spanish  writer,  Landa  (1565),  as  follows: — 

The  sciences  that  they  (Maya)  taught  were  the  reckoning  of  the  years, 
months,  and  days,  the  feasts  and  ceremonies,  the  administration  of 
their  sacraments,  the  fatal  days  and  seasons,  their  methods  of  divina- 
tion and  prophecies,  events  about  to  happen,  remedies  for  diseases, 
their  ancient  history,  together  with  the  art  of  reading  and  writing 
their  books  with  characters  which  were  written,  and  pictures  which 
represented  the  things  written. 

They  wrote  their  books  on  a large  sheet  doubled  into  folds,  which 
was  afterwards  inclosed  between  two  boards,  which  they  decorated 
handsomely.  They  were  written  from  side  to  side  in  columns,  as 
they  were  folded.  They  manufactured  this  paper  from  the  root  of  a 
tree  and  gave  it  a white  surface  on  which  one  could  write.  Some  of 
the  principal  nobles  cultivated  these  sciences  out  of  a taste  for  them, 
and  although  they  did  not  make  public  use  of  them,  as  did  the  priests, 
yet  they  were  the  most  highly  esteemed  for  this  knowledge.9 


The  first  concern  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  was  to  re- 
place the  native  culture  with  their  own,  and  it  may  be 
doubted  if  religion  played  a much  less  part  in  one  than  in 
the  other.  Hence,  the  Spaniards  bent  every  effort  to  destroy 
the  native  priestcraft,  and  as  the  native  literature  was  in 
its  keeping,  all  books  were  destroyed  at  sight.  Yet,  the 
people  could  not  be  made  to  forget,  and  many  manuscripts 
were  written  in  secret.  A number  of  these  have  been  pre- 
served under  their  native  class  name,  The  Books  of  Chilan 
Balam.10  It  is  from  this  source  alone  that  we  get  an  ink- 
ling of  what  Maya  literature  was  like.  No  doubt,  back  of 
it  all  was  a wealth  of  unwritten  verse  and  narrative  of  real 
artistic  merit. 

Outside  of  the  areas  we  have  just  discussed,  we  find  but 
the  feeblest  effort  to  record  tribal  literature;  the  skeleton- 
like year  counts  of  the  Plains  Indians  and  the  mnemonic 
song  tablets  of  the  Algonkin.  are  about  all  that  come  to  no- 
tice. Literature  in  all  these  areas  is  comprised  in  myth- 
ology, ritual  and  song. 


LITERATURE 


147 


A naive  notion  prevails  among  us  that  poetry  and  song 
belong  to  the  most  advanced  states  of  culture,  whereas,  it  is 
nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  they  are  the  truly  primitive 
modes  of  artistic  expression.  Modern  Europe  has  a verse 
and  song  complex  quite  distinct  from  Asia  and  of  very  an- 
cient origin.  The  scales  of  Bronze  Age  trumpets  are  said 
to  prove  its  existence  even  at  that  early  period.  Versifica- 
tion must  be  as  old  as  song,  and  both  are  found  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  It  is  said,  the  languages  of  the  New  World 
do  not  have  the  vocalic  quantities  or  accentuations  of  the 
classical  world,  so  that  aboriginal  poetry  is,  in  the  main, 
made  up  of  refrains  of  meaningless  syllables  and  repeti- 
tions.11 Yet,  there  is  form  and  sentiment,  often  of  great 
artistic  merit. 

Unfortunately,  the  study  of  aboriginal  verse  has  not  been 
attempted.  The  field  is  particularly  difficult,  for  since  the 
essence  of  verse  is  lost  when  translated,  the  multiplicity  of 
native  languages  effectively  bars  progress.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  compare  our  data  or  draw  satisfactory  conclu- 
sions as  to  the  relative  place  of  Inca  or  any  other  type  of 
verse  in  the  New  World  as  a whole.  As  a suggestion,  the 
reader  may  compare  the  following  selections: — 

AN  INCA  HYMN  12 
O Uira-cocha!  Lord  of  the  universe, 

Whether  thou  art  male, 

Whether  thou  art  female, 

Lord  of  reproduction, 

Whatsoever  thou  mayest  be, 

O Lord  of  divination, 

Where  art  thou? 

Thou  mayest  be  above, 

Thou  mayest  be  below, 

Or  perhaps  around 

Thy  splendid  throne  and  sceptre. 

Oh  hear  me! 

From  the  sky  above, 

In  which  thou  mayest  be, 

From  the  sea  beneath, 


148  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

In  which  thou  mayest  be, 

Creator  of  the  world, 

Maker  of  all  men; 

Lord  of  all  Lords, 

My  eyes  fail  me 

For  longing  to  see  thee; 

For  the  sole  desire  to  know  thee. 
Might  I behold  thee, 

Might  I know  thee, 

Might  I consider  thee, 

Might  I understand  thee. 

Oh  look  down  upon  me, 

For  thou  knowest  me 
The  sun — the  moon — 

The  day — the  night — 

Spring — winter, 

Are  not  ordained  in  vain 
By  thee,  O Uira-cochal 
They  all  travel 
To  the  assigned  place; 

They  all  arrive 
At  their  destined  ends, 
Whithersoever  thou  pleasest. 

Thy  royal  sceptre 
Thou  holdest. 

Oh  hear  me! 

Oh  choose  me! 

Let  it  not  be 
That  I should  tire, 

That  I should  die. 


Far  removed,  geographically,  from  this  beautiful  verse, 
but  of  almost  equal  merit,  is  the  following  Navajo  prayer 
chant 13 


A NAVAJO  PRAYER 

Tsegihi. 

House  made  of  the  dawn. 
House  made  of  evening  light. 
House  made  of  the  dark  cloud. 
House  made  of  male  rain. 
House  made  of  dark  mist. 
House  made  of  female  rain. 
House  made  of  pollen. 

House  made  of  grasshoppers. 


LITERATURE 


149 


Dark  cloud  is  at  the  door. 

The  outward  trail  is  dark  cloud. 

The  zigzag  lightning  stands  high  up  on  it. 

Male  deity  1 

Your  offering  I make. 

I have  prepared  a smoke  for  you. 

Restore  my  feet  for  me. 

Restore  my  legs  for  me. 

Restore  my  body  for  me. 

Restore  my  mind  for  me. 

Restore  my  voice  for  me. 

This  very  day  take  out  your  spell  for  me. 

Your  spell  remove  for  me. 

You  have  taken  it  away  for  me. 

Far  off  it  has  gone. 

Happily  I recover. 

Happily  my  interior  becomes  cool. 

Happily  I go  forth. 

My  interior  feeling  cold,  may  I walk. 

No  longer  sore,  may  I walk. 

Impervious  to  pain,  may  I walk. 

With  lively  feelings  may  I walk. 

As  it  used  to  be  long  ago,  may  I walk. 

Happily  may  I walk. 

Happily  with  abundant  dark  clouds,  may  I walk. 
Happily  with  abundant  showers,  may  I walk. 

Happily  with  abundant  plants,  may  I walk. 

Happily  on  a trail  of  pollen,  may  I walk. 

Happily  may  I walk. 

Being  as  it  used  to  be  long  ago,  may  I walk. 

May  it  be  happy  (or  beautiful)  before  me. 

May  it  be  beautiful  behind  me. 

May  it  be  beautiful  below  me. 

May  it  be  beautiful  above  me. 

May  it  be  beautiful  all  around  me. 

In  beauty  it  is  finished. 

In  beauty  it  is  finished. 

Going  still  farther  afield  we  have  the  following  poetical 
gem  from  the  Eskimo : — - 

I look  toward  the  south,  to  great  Mount  Koonak, 

To  great  Mount  Koonak,  there  to  the  south; 

I watch  the  clouds  that  gather  round  him; 

I contemplate  their  shining  brightness; 


150  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

They  spread  abroad  upon  great  Koonak; 
They  climb  up  his  seaward  flanks; 

See  how  they  shift  and  change ; 

Watch  them  there  to  the  south; 

How  the  one  makes  beautiful  the  other; 
How  they  mount  his  southern  slopes, 
Hiding  him  from  the  stormy  sea, 

Each  lending  beauty  to  the  other.14 


No  doubt  these  verses  are  quite  freely  translated,  but 
linguists  have  recorded  very  similar  examples  in  the  orig- 
inal, and  Mr.  James  R.  Murie  has  furnished  us  the  texts 
and  translations  for  two  short  Pawnee  songs: — 

WAR  SONG  OF  THE  PAWNEE  IRUSKA  SOCIETY 


Kira 

katu 

kari 

rarixa 

Kira 

katu 

kari 

rarixa 

Kira 

katu 

kari 

rarixa 

Kira 

katu 

kari 

rarixa 

Kira 

katu 

kari 

rarixa 

ey  ey  a 
Let  me  see  (if)  this  is  real  — — — 

Ti  rat  pari 

Am  I living  (my  life) 

Tiras  ta  kawahat 
You  (who)  possess  the  skies 

A good  free  rendering  of  this  was  published  by  Brin- 
ton 15 

Let  us  see,  is  this  real, 

Let  us  see,  is  this  real, 

Let  us  see,  is  this  real, 

This  life  I am  living? 

Ye  gods,  who  dwell  everywhere, 

Let  us  see,  is  this  real, 

This  life  I am  living? 


PAWNEE  WAR  SONG 


He 
Yo 

Eru  he  ee  ee  ee 
A tiras  ta  kawaha  ti  rat  pari  hey 


e e e e e e 
e yoha  eyu  eyu  eyo 


LITERATURE 


151 

Oh  you  who  possess  the  skies. 

Am  I living. 

Ero  he  ee  ee  ee 

Tat  ara  kitawira 

I in  you  entrust  my  fate 

Hawa  re  ra  wira 

Again  I do  have  on  warpath 

He  e e e e yo 

This  is  said  to  be  a popular  song  among  the  Pawnee  and 
was  composed  by  a man  named  Tiriraktawirus  when  upon 
the  warpath  alone.  Therefore,  the  following  translation  by 
Miss  Curtis 16  is  not  far  wrong : 

0 great  expanse  of  the  blue  sky;  see  me  roaming  here. 

1 trust  in  you,  protect  me! 

Again  on  the  warpath,  lonely. 

From  these  texts  we  see  that  many  of  the  lines  in  a verse 
are  filled  out  by  meaningless  syllables  and  even  the  thought 
is  carried  along  by  abbreviated  phrases  here  and  there.  The 
full  import  of  such  a verse  is  not  self-evident,  but  is  con- 
veyed by  a secondary  prose  narrative,  in  which  the  inci- 
dents and  situations  leading  to  the  composition  are  fully 
stated.  This  must  be  considered  in  translations,  such  as  we 
have  just  noted,  for  this  setting  is  generally  known  to  the 
singers.  Thus,  it  appears  that  the  song  verses  of  the  more 
primitive  tribes  are  not  themselves  narrative,  but  rather 
mnemonic  suggestions  of  prose  tales.  One  more  example 
may  not  be  amiss : — 

DAKOTA  FOX  SOCIETY  SONG1* 

E ha  e — yo  e — yo  he  ye  ye 

E ha  e — yo  e — yo  he  ye  ye  ye 

E ha  e — yo  e — yo  he-ye  yo  yo 

E ha  e — yo  e — yo  he  ye  yo 

He  ye  e ye  yo ! 

To-ka-la-ka  mi -ye  ca  ya  ya, 

Lo,  the  Fox,  the  Fox  am  I ! yea,  yea, 


JS2 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Na  ke  nu  la  wa  on  we  lo, 

Still  the  Fox  a moment  yet  then, 

We  ha  e yo  e yo  he  ye  yo! 

Then  the  Fox  shall  be  no  more ! 

This  is  the  song  of  a warlike  society,  the  joining  of  which 
carries  an  obligation  of  bravery  and  even  foolhardiness 
when  on  the  line  of  battle;  hence,  the  pathetic  lament  of  the 
phrases. 

Under  the  head  of  mythology  we  shall  consider  the  lit- 
erary value  of  prose  narrative.  In  such  narrative  and  ora- 
tory rests  a vast  store  of  unwritten  lore,  much  of  which  has 
great  literary  merit.  In  our  own  literature  the  speech  of 
Logan  is  justly  famous.  As  to  its  precise  correctness  we 
may  entertain  some  doubts,  but  there  are  authentic  reports 
of  similar  speeches  from  other  Indians,  and  anthropologists 
have  collected  literal  transcriptions  of  discourses  that  rise  to 
the  same  level  of  excellence.  However,  for  the  comprehen- 
sion of  this  phase  of  New  World  culture,  the  reader  must 
turn  to  the  published  works  on  Indian  languages. 

MUSIC 

If  the  history  of  verse  did  not  show  its  origin  to  be  in 
song,  its  form  would ; but  there  is  another  side*  to  the  song, 
viz.,  the  music.  What  the  music  of  the  Peruvians  and  Maya 
was  like  we  can  only  conjecture,  but  among  the  less  cultured 
surviving  tribes  we  find  aboriginal  music  in  what  seems  to 
be  an  unadulterated  form.  Though  some  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  subject,  the  study  of  this  surviving  native  music 
as  a culture  trait-complex  has  never  advanced  beyond  a few 
isolated  experiments.  On  the  other  hand,  a number  of  in- 
vestigators have  sought  by  analytic  methods  to  discover  the 
fundamental  structural  elements,  but  their  work  is  still  in 
the  controversial  stage.  For  one  thing,  effort  has  been 
made  to  discover  the  ideal  scales  toward  which  the  Indian 


MUSIC 


153 


singer  strove,  whereas,  the  proper  procedure  is  the  empirical 
determination  of  actual  scales.  Nevertheless,  this  analytic 
study  has  revealed  what  seem  to  be  the  most  distinctive  char- 
acters of  New  World  music.  First  and  foremost  is  what 
has  been  described  as  a “rhythmic  pulsation  of  the  voice  on 
sustained  notes  somewhat  analogous  to  the  effect  produced 
on  the  violin  when  the  same  note  is  slightly  sounded  several 
times  during  one  stroke  of  the  bow.”  18  This  is  a feat  of 
singing  learned  with  difficulty  and  which  makes  the  proper 
notation  of  the  music  in  our  system  extremely  difficult.  An- 
other surprising  characteristic  is  the  disassociation  of  dance 
and  instrumental  rhythms  from  the  song.  Thus,  we  may 
sometimes  find  the  drumming,  dancing  and  singing  each  in 
a different  rhythm,  something  almost  incomprehensible  to 
our  musicians.  As  may  be  expected,  there  is  no  harmony, 
but  this  quality  is  lacking  in  all  primitive  music;  hence,  its 
absence  is  not  distinctive  of  the  New  World.  Yet,  too 
much  weight  should  not  be  given  these  immature  generaliza- 
tions, for  in  the  first  stages  of  linguistic  development  analo- 
gous traits  of  New  World  languages  were  assumed,  most 
of  which  are  now  historical  curiosities.  What  we  need  first 
of  all  is  patient  collecting  and  classifying.  Already  we  find 
evidences  of  geographical  areas  for  music,  just  as  in  art, 
mythology,  etc.  Thus,  the  entire  eastern  maize  area  and 
the  bison  area  seem  to  have  one  type,  the  Pacific  Coast  belt 
another,  and  the  Pueblo  area  another.  This,  unfortunately, 
cannot  be  definitely  stated  and  must  remain  a mere  surmise 
until  properly  investigated.19 

A little  more  can  be  done  with  instruments,  though  even 
here  we  lack  good  studies.  The  only  serious  attempt  to 
study  the  distribution  of  the  most  important  types  is  that  of 
Nordenskiold.20  The  two  most  common  instruments  are 
the  drum  and  the  rattle.  We  refer  to  the  calabash  type  of 
rattle.  Its  distribution  is  coincident  with  that  of  agricul- 
ture but  extends  somewhat  farther  in  North  America,  where 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


1 54 

we  find  rawhide  a substitute  among  the  non-agricultural 
bison  tribes,  and  beyond  them  the  hollowed-out  wooden 
rattle  of  the  Northwest.  It  is  a fair  assumption  that  the 
type  arose  among  a calabash-producing  people  and  was 
thence  diffused. 

There  are  other  types  of  minor  rattling,  rasping,  and  clap- 
ping instruments  of  restricted  distribution.  The  only  one 
approaching  the  calabash  rattle  in  importance  is  the  notched 
stick.21 

Drums  seem  to  be  of  greater  variety.  One  general  tam- 
bourine type  is  found  in  the  bison  area  and  northward  to 
the  Eskimo  and  Siberia.  In  the  eastern  maize  area  the 
single-headed  water-tuned  drum  prevailed,  whose  distribu- 
tion seems  to  be  continuous  through  the  West  Indies  into 
South  America.  In  southwestern  United  States  and  south- 
ward, a double-headed  drum  similar  to  our  own  was  in  use. 
The  large  wooden  signal  drums  of  the  Amazon  country  we 
suspect  to  be  of  recent  African  origin. 

As  the  case  now  stands,  there  were  no  stringed  instru- 
ments in  the  New  World  before  1492.  The  only  debatable 
case  is  that  of  the  musical  bow  found  in  California  and 
northern  Mexico.  Of  wind  instruments,  the  most  compli- 
cated is  the  pan-pipe  of  Peru  and  Brazil.22  Yet,  the  aborig- 
inal origin  of  this  instrument  has  been  challenged  by  Hom- 
bostel 23  who  claims  the  scale  of  the  New  World  pipes  is  the 
same  arbitrary  one  as  found  in  Melanesia.  This  is  denied, 
however,  by  Charles  W.  Mead  who  reports  a wide  variation 
in  the  scales  of  many  South  American  pan-pipes  examined 
by  him.  In  any  case,  the  distribution  of  this  instrument  is, 
in  the  main,  Andean,  and  so  localized.24  Trumpets  were 
used  in  Mexico  and  Peru  and  still  survive  in  the  Amazon 
area.  Some  of  the  most  interesting  forms  are  the  conch- 
shell,  the  pottery  horn,  and  the  bamboo  types.  In  the  Old 
World  the  horns  or  tusks  of  animals  stand  out  as  the  orig- 
inal trumpet  form,  but  horns  seem  not  to  have  been  so  used 


MUSIC 


155 


in  the  New  World.  Again,  all  New  World  trumpets  were 
end-blown.  While  it  is  true  that  the  side-blown  variety  oc- 
curs in  South  America  its  distribution  is  such  as  to  suggest 
its  recent  origin  by  African  colonization.25  Closely  allied 
to  this  is  a reed  instrument  of  cane,  sometimes  called  a 
cornet,  used  in  Peru  and  still  found  along  the  Amazon. 
True  flutes  were  used  in  Peru,26  but  in  North  America,  the 
flageolet.  No  more  than  with  song  music  can  we  compare 
the  types  of  composition  for  these  instruments  in  the  several 
geographical  areas.  This  is  truly  unfortunate,  for  it  seems 
that  music  offers  one  of  the  very  best  trait-complexes  for  the 
study  of  diffusion  and  invention.  It  is  one  of  the  weak 
points  in  the  careful,  painstaking  study  of  ritualism  now 
prosecuted  by  American  anthropologists,  for  when  a ritual 
passes  from  one  tribe  to  another  (of  which  phenomenon 
we  have  already  many  instances),  we  may  expect  that  its 
music  will  be  carried  more  faithfully  than  anything  else. 


1.  Spinden,  1913.  I. 

2.  Mallery,  1886.  I. 

3.  Garcilasso,  1688.  I. 

4.  Markham,  1910.  I,  p.  147. 

5.  Markham,  1910.  I,  p.  147. 

6.  Markham,  1910.  I. 

7.  Beckwith,  1907.  I. 

8.  Mackenzie,  A.  S.,  1911.  I. 

9.  Brinton,  1890.  I,  p.  245. 

10.  Brinton,  1890.  I. 

11.  Brinton,  1890.  I. 

12.  Markham,  1910.  I,  pp.  100-101. 

13.  Matthews,  1907.  I,  pp.  54-55. 

14.  Brinton,  1890.  I,  p.  290. 

15.  Brinton,  1890.  I,  p.  292. 


16.  Curtis,  1907.  I,  p.  1 12. 

17.  Curtis,  1907.  I,  p.  51. 

18.  Curtis,  1907.  I,  p.  27. 

19.  Gilman,  1908.  I ; Densmore, 
1910.  I;  1913.  I;  1918.  I;  Bur- 
ton, 1909.  I. 

20.  Nordenskiold,  1918.  I. 

21.  Lowie,  1909.  I,  p.  219;  Hawley, 
1898.  I. 

22.  Mead,  1903.  I. 

23.  Hornbostel,  1911.  I. 

24.  Nordenskiold,  1918.  I. 

25.  Nordenskiold,  1918.  I. 

26.  Mead,  1903.  I. 


CHAPTER  X 
SOCIAL  GROUPING 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  there  were  at  least  three  well- 
organized  governments  in  the  New  World:  the  Nahua, 
Inca,  and  Chibcha.  Though  our  data  as  to  the  details  of 
these  organizations  are  but  fragmentary,  it  is  clear  that  the 
social  structure  upon  which  they  rested  was  communistic. 
The  family  group  was  the  unit  to  which  plots  of  land  were 
assigned  and  upon  which  levies  were  made.  Each  family 
group  had  its  head  man  who  also  held  a place  in  the  council 
for  the  next  higher  group.  The  government  was  vested  in 
a single  family  group,  one  of  whom  was  the  chief  or  mon- 
arch. He  qualified  and  was  chosen  by  such  means  as  this 
group  elected,  regardless  of  his  parentage.  These  were  the 
fundamental  characteristics  common  to  all  the  governments 
of  the  area  of  higher  culture;  they  differed  from  each  other 
not  in  these  but  in  the  ways  in  which  the  ruling  family  group 
built  up  its  power  and  organized  its  political  machinery. 
The  thoroughness  and  efficiency  of  the  Inca  system  was 
notorious,  for  it  left  practically  nothing  to  the  individual, 
an  ideal  toward  which  certain  European  states  seem  to  be 
headed.  The  apparent  ease  of  the  Spanish  conquest  is 
often  cited  as  proof  to  the  contrary,  but  the  conquerors  suc- 
ceeded by  a bold  dash  at  the  ruling  group  and,  once  having 
laid  hands  upon  the  machinery,  the  thoroughly  domesticated 
natives  were  easily  handled.  So  it  was  rather  by  the  very 
thoroughness  of  the  system,  than  its  weakness,  that  they 
succeeded.  In  fact,  wherever  there  were  still  independent 
cities,  the  invaders  met  with  the  most  heroic  resistance, 
some  communities  perishing  to  the  last  man.1  Further,  it 

156 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


157 

was  largely  the  ready-trained  army  of  the  native  kingdoms, 
or  such  units  of  it  as  the  usurpers  could  lay  hands  upon, 
that  did  the  work  against  these  refractory  cities. 

The  political  organization  in  Mexico  was  less  thorough 
than  that  of  the  Inca,  though  far  superior  to  that  in  Co- 
lombia. Mexico  was  ruled  by  the  head  family  group  in  the 
City  of  Mexico,  which  Bandelier  2 has  shown  rose  from  the 
determined  head  of  a warlike  people  that  the  preceding 
government  had  failed  to  conquer.  When  once  upon  its 
feet,  this  ruling  family  conquered,  one  by  one,  the  surround- 
ing cities  and  forced  them  to  pay  tribute.  The  system  was 
thus  plainly  a matter  of  military  rule,  arbitrary  and  abso- 
lute. Apparently,  this  power  had  not  yet  seized  the  entire 
social  machinery  of  production  as  in  Peru,  but  was  in  a fair 
way  to  do  so  when  the  Spaniards  came. 

The  same  form  of  growth  by  conquest  of  city  after  city  is 
apparent  in  the  Inca  scheme,  while  in  Colombia  it  was  still 
in  its  incipient  stage.  These  main  characteristics  will  best 
enable  us  to  comprehend  this  remarkable  development. 

It  is  probable  that  underlying  governments  so  built  up, 
there  must  necessarily  have  been  originally  a considerable 
diversity  of  language  and  social  custom.  As  to  the  atti- 
tude of  the  several  governments  toward  these  subjected 
groups,  we  are  left  in  doubt,  but  both  in  Mexico  and  in 
Peru  the  conquered  were  required  to  participate  in  the  offi- 
cial religious  practices,  or  perhaps  we  should  say  that  be- 
cause each  military  and  other  governmental  act  was  accom- 
panied by  ritualistic  observances,  the  conquered  could  not 
conform  to  one  without  the  other.  The  Inca  seem  to  have 
developed  the  method  of  dispersing  refractory  social  groups 
over  the  empire  as  a means  of  decreasing  resistance. 

Outside  of  the  Andean  region,  the  family  group  appears 
to  be  the  prevailing  independent  unit,  but,  as  elsewhere,  the 
tendency  is  for  two  or  more  of  these  to  live  together  under 
some  kind  of  a federation.  So  far  as  we  know,  no  strong 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


158 

subjecting  tendencies  were  developed  by  any  of  these  fed- 
erations. The  Araucanians  seem  to  have  formed  a very 
efficient  organization  for  the  common  defense,  since  neither 
the  Inca  nor  the  Spaniard  succeeded  in  subjecting  them; 
yet  they  seem  not  to  have  developed  the  missionary  idea  of 
extending  their  -culture  by  conquest. 

In  North  America  we  find  upon  the  frontier  of  the  Mex- 
ican state  a large  number  of  pueblos,  each  village  or  group 
of  villages,  a government  to  itself,  yet  recognizing  a com- 
mon interest  in  times  of  peril.  Their  heroic  struggle 
against  the  Spaniards  in  1680  reveals  the  existence  of  basic 
elements  for  union,  but  at  no  time  did  any  of  these  villages 
appear  to  be  moved  by  the  spirit  of  conquest  and  force  its 
neighbors  into  a closer  organization.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  were  not  easily  assimilated,  preserving  to  this  very  day 
a great  deal  of  their  independence.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
underneath  their  individualities  these  villages,  with  their 
family  groups,  closely  coordinated  ritualistic  observances, 
their  elected  governors  and  war  captains,  present  the  fun- 
damental characteristics  of  the  towns  from  which  the  south- 
ern aboriginal  empires  were  built  up. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Pueblo  villages  were  the 
somewhat  nomadic  Apache,  Ute,  and  Navajo,  with  simple 
tribal  organizations  in  which  each  local  group  was  a law 
unto  itself.  But  to  the  east,  through  the  Gulf  States  and 
up  into  Virginia,  we  find  a tendency  to  close  federation. 
Among  the  best-known  examples  are  the  Cherokee,  Creek, 
and  Powhatan  organizations.  Farther  north  in  New  York, 
was  the  famous  Iroquois  League,®  with  its  finely  balanced 
government,  the  aggressiveness  of  which  created  several 
small  but  weak  neighboring  unions.  Farther  west,  we  have 
the  Pawnee  group  and  the  very  loosely  coordinated  Dakota 
council  of  “Seven  Fires.”  Beyond  this,  we  have  little  more 
than  informal  alliances,  as  the  Blackfoot,  Gros  Ventre,  and 
Sarsi ; the  Cheyenne,  Arapaho,  Kiowa,  and  Comanche. 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


159 

Yet,  outside  of  these  few  attempts  at  political  consolida- 
tion, we  must  be  prepared  to  meet  a bewildering  array  of 
small  independent  tribal  governments  and,  in  some  cases, 
nothing  at  all  save  the  fundamental  unit  groups.  Thus  it 
happens  that  one  of  the  most  forbidding  aspects  of  our  sub- 
ject to  the  layman,  is  the  nomenclature  by  which  we  desig- 
nate these  numerous  political  groups.  All  these  group 
names  have  historical  origins  and  so  represent  neither  sys- 
tems of  tribal  relationship  nor  equal  social  values.  When 
our  colonial  forefathers  observed  a new  political  group 
under  a common  head,  they  gave  to  it  a tribal  name  derived 
from  its  own  language  or  from  some  other  circumstances. 
Such  designations  can  have  little  classificatory  value.  It 
is  true  that  a linguistic  nomenclature  has  been  provided 
which  is  essentially  classificatory,  but  this  again  employs  the 
conventional  historic  names  for  the  several  social  groups. 
The  list  for  these  tribal  names  is  further  complicated  by 
the  occurrence  of  alternate  equivalents  and  again  by  unex- 
pected subdivisions  into  subordinate  groups.  Hence,  when 
a tribe  name  is  encountered,  practically  nothing  except  more 
or  less  political  independence  can  be  taken  for  granted;  as 
to  other  relations,  we  must  know  the  conditions  in  each  case. 
What  we  have  just  seen  to  be  the  most  fundamental  social 
tendencies  of  the  New  World,  will  prepare  us  for  a very 
formidable  list  of  tribes.  It  is  estimated  that  for  North 
America  alone,  our  literature  contains  more  than  two  thou- 
sand tribal  designations.  To  offer  such  a list  here  would 
avail  little,  but  some  of  the  most  important  tribal  names  will 
be  given  in  the  linguistic  classification  (p.  401). 

No  important  problem  seems  to  hinge  upon  this  tribal 
nomenclature,  since  it  is  solely  a matter  of  convenience. 
When,  however,  we  come  to  consider  the  internal  organiza- 
tion of  these  conventional  tribal  groups,  we  do  come  face 
to  face  with  one  of  the  most  important  problems  in  social 
science.  That  very  distinguished  American  social  philoso- 


160  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

pher,  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  took  the  data  for  his  theory  of  mar- 
riage and  social  regulation  from  the  Iroquois  and  other 
North  American  tribes  and  his  field  reports  are  still  models 
of  accuracy.4  Following  his  lead,  Bandelier 5 gave  us  an 
exhaustive  discussion  of  the  Mexican  system.  Morgan  was, 
above  all,  an  evolutionist,  who  considered  all  now  inexplic- 
able social  usages  to  be  survivals  of  a state  of  culture  when 
they  did  have  a real  function.  For  example,  the  observed 
tendency  to  use  the  same  relationship  term  for  father  and 
uncle,  was  considered  as  dating  from  a time  when  there  was 
no  ready  means  of  knowing  who  was  the  true  father.  As 
time  went  on,  new  data  began  to  present  inconsistencies  with 
Morgan’s  views,  but  the  recent  extended  discussion  of 
Rivers  6 has  sought  to  justify  the  earlier  hypothesis  on  the 
ground  that  the  very  last  culture  traits  to  be  lost  or  modi- 
fied by  a social  group,  are  those  that  have  to  do  with  fam- 
ily relationships.  This  work,  perhaps  more  than  anything 
else,  stimulated  a number  of  American  field-workers  7 to 
reexamine  the  whole  problem. 

THE  LOCAL  GROUP 

The  comprehension  of  social  organization  is  by  no  means 
easy  because  the  phenomenon  is  very  complex  and  lacks 
objective  definition.  In  North  America,  where  we  know 
the  subject  best,  we  find  among  other  forms  a natural  social 
group,  or  band,  under  the  leadership  of  a competent  indi- 
vidual. The  nucleus  of  this  group  is  frequently  the  im- 
mediate family  of  the  leader,  recruited  by  relatives  and 
strangers  who  have  attached  themselves  because  of  faith  in 
his  leadership.  Thus  an  energetic  leader  may  soon  have  a 
large  following.  Such  groups  are  usually  found  among 
hunting  peoples  who  maintain  their  tribal  solidarity  by  meet- 
ing once  or  twice  a year  en  masse , at  which  time  only,  the 
tribal  government  is  in  function.  After  these  brief  inter- 
vals, they  again  scatter  out  in  these  same  groups,  or  com- 


THE  LOCAL  GROUP 


i6r 


munities.  In  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  in  fact 
everywhere,  the  annual  round  of  seasons  gives  human  social 
life  a kind  of  yearly  cycle.  This  is  very  striking  in  the 
bison  area,  particularly  among  those  tribes  on  the  borders 
who  raise  a little  maize  or  tobacco.  Here  the  severe  weather 
of  January  finds  the  small  bands  we  have  noted  sheltered  in 
little  valleys  some  distance  apart,  each  usually  having  its 
definite  camping  place.  Here  they  stay  until  spring,  when 
their  fields  are  prepared.  When  the  crop  is  in,  a call  is  sent 
out  by  the  tribal  chief  for  all  to  meet  at  a certain  place, 
where  the  bands  are  automatically  confederated  into  an  or- 
ganized camp  which  now  moves  and  kills  bison  as  a body. 
After  an  interval,  they  return  to  harvest  their  crop  and  then 
once  again  set  out  for  the  autumn  hunt,  to  scatter  out,  at 
last,  to  their  homes  in  December.  In  such  a political  group, 
it  is  clear  that  the  simple  band  is  the  fundamental  unit  and 
as  such  is  little  more  than  the  voluntary  association  of  indi- 
viduals under  an  able  leader.  All  are  more  or  less  depend- 
ent upon  his  bounty.  Among  these  may  be  a shaman  and 
also  a priest,  though  the  leader  himself  may  be  one  of  these. 

Some  authors  designate  such  a band  as  a family  group, 
but  that  is  going  a little  too  far,  for  when  we  have  full  data, 
these  bands  are  found  to  contain  many  individuals  not  de- 
scended from  the  leader  and  not  even  his  relatives.  For 
these  reasons,  the  term  local  group  is  preferable.8  There 
is,  however,  a native  tendency  to  consider  all  members  of 
such  a band  as  relatives  in  a figurative  sense,  and  to  apply 
blood  relationship  terms  to  them,  as  men  of  similar  age- 
grades  will  speak  of  themselves  as  brothers,  etc.  As  these 
groups  have  more  or  less  permanency,  it  is  conceivable  that 
in  time  they  may  come  to  be  largely  blood  groups. 

In  such  a society,  an  individual  is  known  by  his  personal 
name,  together  with  the  band  name,  but,  as  among  us,  each 
must  keep  track  of  his  blood  relationship  by  specific  mem- 
ory. We  see  then  that  the  true  family  group,  as  we  con- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


162 

ceive  it,  exists  somewhat  independent  of  the  band.  All 
the  world  over,  the  prime  importance  of  keeping  track  of 
blood  relationship  is  recognized,  particularly  in  respect  to 
marriage,  or  sexual  life.  These  bands,  on  the  other  hand, 
seem  to  have  no  specific  function  in  the  regulation  of  mar- 
riage, but  to  be  economic  or  political  groups. 

Such  bands,  as  we  have  just  outlined,  are  characteristic 
of  the  great  hunting  areas  (the  caribou  area,  the  bison  area, 
and  the  guanaco  area,  though  our  data  here  are  vague), 
and  the  interior  of  the  salmon  area.  They  may  also  prevail 
in  the  manioc  area,  but  we  lack  good  data.  In  these  various 
areas,  we  have  a great  range  of  tribal  organization,  but  the 
fundamental  units  are  the  loose  bands,  or  local  groups,  we 
have  just  characterized. 

CLANS  AND  GENTES 

Now  when  we  come  to  the  centers  of  more  intense  cul- 
ture, we  find  what  is  called  a clan  or  gens,  as  the  case  may 
be.  If  we  should  take  one  of  the  preceding  groups  and 
make  it  permanent  in  the  sense  that  everyone  born  in  it  is 
forever  a member,  we  would  have  a somewhat  different  af- 
fair. The  group  name  would  now  be  firmly  fixed  to  the  in- 
dividual and  define  his  descent,  for  by  it  he  could  know,  in 
theory,  at  least,  that  he  was  a blood  relative  of  every  other 
person  with  that  group  name.  If  the  group  is  small,  many 
individuals  will  be  of  too  near  kin  to  marry  and  must  bring 
in  wives  or  husbands  as  the  case  may  be.  Since  the  parents 
are  now  of  different  groups,  their  child  must  inherit  one  or 
the  other  group  name.  There  are  but  two  alternatives. 
When  he  takes  the  mother’s  group  name,  we  use  the  term 
clan,  when  the  father’s,  gens.  We  do  not  intend  to  imply 
that  the  clan  necessarily  came  about  in  this  manner,  but  give 
the  statement  this  form  for  the  sake  of  clearness  in  distinc- 
tion. 

Now,  it  frequently  happens  that  certain  social  regulations 


CLANS  AND  GENTES 


163 

are  defined  by  the  clan  or  gentile  name.  In  many  cases,  the 
universal  prohibition  against  marriage  between  nearest  kin 
is  formalized  into  a rule  that  persons  with  the  same  clan  or 
gentile  names  cannot  marry.  This  gives  what  is  spoken  of 
as  an  exogamous  relation.  In  the  New  World,  at  least,  this 
rule  does  not  negate  the  world-wide  prohibition  against  the 
marriage  of  parents  and  children  and  other  near  relatives, 
but  is  an  additional  social  regulation.  On  reflection,  it  will 
be  apparent  that  as  a clan  or  gens  expands,  it  will  become 
more  and  more  easy  for  one  to  find  within  it  a mate  not 
ineligible  by  blood.  In  fact,  we  have  the  example  of  the 
Pawnee  clan  organization  on  the  endogamous  principle ; i.e., 
one  is  expected  to  marry  a member  of  his  own  clan,  but,  of 
course,  not  a near  relative. 

This  peculiar  association  of  membership  in  a social  group 
with  marriage  restrictions  has  received  a great  deal  of  at- 
tention from  students  of  society,  many  of  whom  have  looked 
upon  it  as  the  key,  not  only  to  the  marriage  system,  but  to 
society  as  a whole.  Yet,  in  the  light  of  concrete  data  for 
the  New  World,  this  seems  unwarranted.  Also,  the  tend- 
ency has  been  to  consider  clans  and  gentes  as  fundamentally 
different,  but  a close  look  at  them  shows  that  they  rest  upon 
the  same  idea  and  differ  only  in  the  method  by  which  the 
child  is  assigned  membership. 

Turning  now  to  the  question  of  geographical  distribu- 
tion, it  appears  that  so  far  as  known,  the  clan  and  gentile 
area  will  comprise  the  whole  of  the  area  of  intense  culture, 
the  greater  part  of  the  eastern  maize  area,  the  coast  tribes 
of  the  salmon  area,  and  a portion  of  the  manioc  area.  It  is 
thus  clear  that  it  tends  to  appear  in  the  regions  of  more  in- 
tense culture  and  particularly  wherever  there  is  an  appear- 
ance of  political  solidarity.  If  we  consider  only  the  gentile 
form,  we  find  it  somewhat  in  the  majority,  dominating 
among  the  Siouan  peoples  of  the  bison  area,  the  Algonkin 
of  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Nahua,  Maya,  and  Inca  peoples, 


164 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  57.  Distribution  of  Clans  and  Gentes 


CLANS  AND  GENTES 


165 

with  outlying  localizations  in  both  continents.  Yet,  the 
clan  also  has  a respectable  distribution,  comprising  a large 
part  of  the  coast  tribes  in  the  salmon  area,  the  eastern  and 
southern  parts  of  the  eastern  maize  area,  the  Pueblo  tribes, 
the  Antilles,  the  Arawak  of  South  America,  and  the  Chib- 
cha  of  Colombia  and  Central  America.  There  is  thus  no 
great  disparity,  but  considering  them  as  merely  two  forms 
of  the  same  grouping,  we  see  that  the  clan-gentile  system 
does  prevail  and  is  in  general  a correlate  of  political  soli- 
darity. 

However,  the  clan  or  gens  is  not  necessarily  the  ultimate 
social  unit,  but  may  by  expansion  come  to  have  unexpected 
relations  to  tfye  tribal  group.  Kroeber’s 9 investigations  of 
the  Pueblo  peoples  of  southwestern  United  States  show 
that  many  clans  have  members  in  each  village,  a condition 
somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Iroquois  as  analyzed  by 
Morgan  10  many  years  ago.  In  these  cases,  we  see  that  the 
clan  organization  simply  cross-sections  the  community  or 
tribal  grouping,  the  one  being,  as  it  were,  vertical  and  the 
other  horizontal.  In  the  Iroquoian  system,  we  find  a close 
federation  between  the  tribal  groups  which  stopped  little 
short  of  a compact  political  state.  Unfortunately,  we  do 
not  know  just  how  the  clans  were  distributed  in  the  confed- 
erated tribes  of  southeastern  United  States,  nor  the  gens  in 
the  ancient  states  of  the  Aztec,  Maya,  and  Inca,  but  we 
find  the  two  systems  together — compact  government  and 
the  clan-gens  organization.  It  is,  therefore,  fair  to  raise 
the  question  as  to  whether  the  real  basic  unity  that  made 
possible  these  aboriginal  political  states  did  not  rest  with 
their  clan  and  gentile  relations,  since  in  these  they  had  a 
definite  bond.  A study  of  the  Arawak  would  be  interesting 
in  this  connection,  for  though  they  are  scattered  far  and 
wide,  they  seem  to  have  preserved  a definite  clan  system 
throughout. 

We  have  just  noted  how  the  clan-gens  grouping  seemed 


1 66 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


to  be  independent  of  the  tribal  grouping  and  was  not  neces- 
sarily a political  scheme.  We  may,  therefore,  be  prepared 
to  learn  that  clans  are  sometimes  grouped  or  linked  in  ways 
peculiar  to  themselves.  Thus,  among  the  Menomini  of  the 
eastern  maize  area,  we  have  the  several  gentes  in  groups 
of  three  or  more,  in  each  of  which  one  is  regarded  as  the 
leading  gens.11  A somewhat  similar  crude  sort  of  linking 
is  reported  for  the  Arizona  Apache,  though  in  this  case  for 
clans.  Evidence  for  certain  kinds  of  linking  occurs  among 
the  Pueblo  villages  and  elsewhere.  The  phenomenon  is  of 
interest  here  only  in  that  it  is  the  vaguer  and  less  definite 
of  such  associations,  for  when  two  or  more  of  the  clan-gens 
groups  are  subordinated  to  a complementary  division  of  the 
tribal  unit,  they  are  considered  a phratry.  What  we  have 
noted  as  to  the  association  between  the  clan-gens  system 
and  marriage  restrictions,  applies  here  also,  for  exogamous 
linked  groups  are  likely  to  be  mutually  exogamous.  The 
phratry  also  may  become  the  controlling  unit  as,  for  ex- 
ample, among  the  Iroquois. 

DUAL  DIVISIONS 

In  addition  to  the  social  groups  we  have  so  far  consid- 
ered, we  find  another  peculiar  one.  Thus,  among  certain 
Pueblo  Indians  of  southwestern  United  States  (the  Tewa), 
the  village  is  divided  in  two  halves,  or  moieties,  known  as 
summer  and  winter  people,  since  one  has  charge  of  certain 
functions  in  summer,  the  other  in  winter.  A similar  group- 
ing is  reported  for  the  Caddoan 12  and  a part  of  the  Siouan 
stock  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,13  the  Miwok  of  California14 
and  also  among  the  Iroquois  of  the  east.15  In  such  cases 
the  clans  or  gentes  are  sometimes  disregarded,  but  are  usually 
treated  as  subdivisions  of  the  moiety.  For  example,  the 
Seneca  division  of  the  Iroquois  had  four  clans  in  one 
moiety  and  an  equal  number  in  the  other.  Though  in  this 


DUAL  DIVISIONS  167 

case  equally  divided,  we  find  the  Hidatsa  with  four  in  one 
and  three  in  the  other,  and  the  Pawnee  with  two  in  one 
and  eleven  in  the  other.  As  an  example  of  a moiety  that 
disregards  the  gens  or  clan,  we  have  the  Fox  and  Kickapoo 
tribes,  each  of  which  has  gentile  groups;  but  membership 
in  the  moieties  is  determined  arbitrarily  when  the  child  is 
named,  so  that  the  members  of  a given  gens  will  be  divided 
between  the  two.  In  this  dual  grouping  of  tribes,  we  are 
dealing  with  a curious  phenomenon  which  is  not  yet  well 
understood.  It  is  almost  universal  in  the  southern  half  of 
the  eastern  maize  area,  the  eastern  half  of  the  bison  area, 
and  extends  well  down  into  the  area  of  intense  culture,  if 
indeed  not  to  its  extreme  borders.  The  data  we  have  at 
hand  seem  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  a moiety  is  not 
merely  a larger  division  of  clan  or  gentile  groups,16  but  a 
grouping  of  another  kind.  This  is  clearly  the  case  among 
the  Sauk  and  Fox  where  children  at  birth  are  assigned, 
regardless  of  their  gens,  to  one  of  two  moieties  whose  only 
function  seems  to  be  pleasurable  social  rivalry  in  certain 
games.  Something  like  this  is  found  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  eastern  maize  area  and  has  been  reported  from  the 
Jicarilla  Apache.  The  precise  distribution  of  this  custom 
cannot  be  stated,  but  something  very  much  like  it  has  been 
noted  among  the  western  Eskimo.17 

If  these  dual  divisions  were  entirely  for  sport  and  cere- 
monies, their  origin  and  function  would  be  intelligible,  but 
the  problem  is  complicated  by  the  presence  of  exogamous 
regulations.  For  example,  among  the  Iroquois,  the  dual  di- 
visions, or  moieties,  are  the  phratries  and  were  formerly 
exogamous,  so  that  one  must  not  only  marry  out  of  his  clan, 
but  out  of  his  moiety.  It  is  not  clear,  therefore,  whether 
the  mere  fact  of  dual  division  is  significant  or  just  acciden- 
tal. Until  the  whole  subject  is  searchingly  analyzed,  we 
cannot  deal  with  it  in  a work  of  this  kind.  The  present 
tendency  is  to  regard  it  as  in  the  main  accidental  and  to  con- 


1 68  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

sider  the  exogamous  character  of  moieties  mere  extensions 
of  the  system  regulating  marriage. 

RELATIONSHIP  SYSTEMS 

In  the  older  literature  of  our  subject,  special  significance 
was  given  the  fact  that  among  certain  peoples  the  term 
father  or  mother  was  extended  to  include  uncles,  and 
brother  or  sister  to  include  cousins.  It  was  assumed  that 
if  one  called  his  mother’s  sister  also  mother,  and  his  pa- 
ternal uncle,  father,  this  was  a survival  of  a time  when 
marriage  was  indefinite  and  the  identity  of  the  parent  in 
doubt.  Recently,  a great  deal  of  attention  has  been  given 
the  various  tribal  systems  of  relationship  terms,18  an  ab- 
stract and  rather  difficult  subject.  From  the  New  World 
data  now  at  hand,  it  appears  that  where  such  systems  are 
used,  there  is  no  actual  confusion  between  one’s  real  parent, 
for  instance,  and  the  uncle  or  aunt  to  whom  the  name  may 
also  be  applied.  We  have,  therefore,  merely  a system  of 
designation  which  may  be  presumed  to  have  an  historical 
origin. 

A precise  statement  of  the  varieties  of  systems  and  their 
distribution  cannot  be  made,  for  want  of  full  data,  but  one 
common  form  is  that  designated  by  Morgan  as  classificatory, 
or  that  in  which  a single  term  is  used  for  both  father  and 
father’s  brothers,  mother  and  mother’s  sisters.  Its  best- 
known  area  is  practically  the  whole  of  the  United  States  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  comprising  almost  the  entire  eastern  clan 
and  gens  area  as  designated  on  our  map  (p.  164).  Again, 
on  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  we  find  a similar  system  asso- 
ciated with  the  clan  and  gens  organizations.  The  next 
trace  of  it  appears  in  the  clan  area  of  New  Mexico.  For 
the  other  clan  and  gens  areas,  we  lack  full  data.  These  are 
also  the  regions  in  which  exogamy  prevails.  On  the  other 
hand,  for  the  great  stretch  of  North  America,  which  we 
have  designated  as  the  band  area,  the  relationship  nomen- 


TABOOS  169 

clature  tends  to  resemble  our  own  in  that  it  differentiates 
the  father  from  his  brothers.  Thus,  in  a general  way,  we 
find  that  wherever  there  are  exogamous  clans  or  gentes,  one 
form  of  designating  relatives  prevails,  while  among  tribes 
having  simple  family  groups,  there  is  a different  form.  This 
is  not  without  exception,  for  example,  the  Pawnee  have  the 
system  of  these  exogamous  tribes  but  are  endogamous. 

There  are,  however,  other  points  of  difference  in  rela- 
tionship systems  as,  for  example,  the  use  of  reciprocal 
terms,  or  the  method  by  which  the  same  word  is  used  by 
uncle  and  nephew,  grandparent  and  grandchild,  to  express 
the  relation  of  the  one  to  the  other.  Such  a system  is  found 
among  the  Kootenai,  Ute,  and  most  Shoshonean  tribes  of 
the  highlands  in  western  United  States.  By  taking  note  of 
such  distinctions  as  these,  it  seems  possible  to  localize  sev- 
eral geographical  types  of  nomenclature  whose  investiga- 
tion promises  to  hold  an  important  place  in  the  anthropol- 
ogy of  the  future. 

TABOOS  AND  SOCIAL  PRIVILEGES 

This  is  a convenient  place  to  note  certain  curious  social 
phenomena  pertaining  to  the  relationship  complex.  In  many 
parts  of  the  world,  a man  is  not  permitted  to  speak  to  his 
mother-in-law  and  in  some  cases  not  even  to  look  at  her. 
These  restrictions  are  designated  as  mother-in-law  taboos.19 
The  actual  New  World  distribution  of  this  custom  cannot  be 
stated  at  present,  but  it  is  found  among  many  tribes  in  the 
interior  of  North  America.  In  a few  cases,  the  restric- 
tions seem  to  have  applied  to  one’s  father-in-law  also,  par- 
ticularly among  the  Plains-Cree  of  the  bison  area.20  On 
the  other  hand,  the  father-in-law  and  the  daughter-in-law 
are  less  rigidly  restricted,  their  attitude  toward  each  other 
being  much  like  that  of  father  and  daughter. 

This  subject  deserves  more  careful  investigation,  first  as 
to  its  distribution  and  ultimately  as  to  its  significance,  since 


170  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

it  seems  to  be  the  natural  correlate  of  certain  forms  of  mar- 
riage. The  data  so  far  available  on  their  geographical  dis- 
tribution show  it  to  be  erratic  rather  than  continuous,  even 
one  or  two  tribes  speaking  mutually  intelligible  languages 
differing  in  the  keeping  of  this  taboo.  This  is  shown  by  the 
following  data  supplied  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Lowie : — 

The  North  American  tribes,  known  to  have  the  mother- 
in-law  taboo,  are : the  Cree,  Assiniboin,  Blackfoot,  Arapaho, 
Crow,  Lemhi  Shoshoni,  Dakota,  Hidatsa,  Mandan,  Omaha, 
Navajo,  Apache,  Tubatulabal  (Kern  River  Shoshoni),  the 
Western  Mono  (not  the  Eastern  Mono),  Haida,  Creek,  Ali- 
bamu,  Kiowa,  and  Cheyenne.  Those  known  not  to  observe 
it  are : the  Pawnee,  Kwakiutl,  Nootka,  Paviotso,  Comanche, 
Wind  River  Shoshoni,  Hopi,  Zuni,  Ute,  Nez  Perce,  Tewa, 
Keresan,  Beaver,  and  tribes  in  northwestern  California. 
For  South  America  the  taboo  has  been  reported  for  the 
Guaycuris  and  the  Carib  of  the  Antilles. 

However,  the  apparent  erratic  distribution  of  this  custom 
may  be  due  to  incomplete  information. 

There  are  other  phenomena  of  this  class,  of  which  the 
joking-relationship  is  a type,  so  far  reported  for  central 
North  America  only.  In  general,  the  custom  is  for  indi- 
viduals of  certain  specific  relationships  to  have  the  privilege 
of  almost  unlimited  personal  ridicule,  even  in  public,  which 
must  be  cheerfully  borne.  For  example,  among  the  Black- 
foot  a man  enjoys  the  conspicuous  privilege  of  defying  the 
conventionalities  of  speech  in  conversation  with  the  sisters 
of  his  wife,  but  not  with  the  wife  of  his  brother.  Con- 
versely, he  must  be  extremely  circumspect  in  conversation 
with  all  the  male  relatives  of  his  wife.  All  such  conven- 
tionalities deserve  careful  study  because  they  promise  to  be 
survivals  of  more  archaic  forms  of  social  and  marriage 
systems. 


TOTEMS 


171 


AGE  GRADES  AND  SOCIETIES 

As  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  we  find  in  the  New  World 
a tendency  for  a social  group  to  recognize  conventional  age- 
classes,  particularly  for  the  males.  Thus,  for  the  purposes 
of  administration,  the  Inca  government  divided  the  males 
into  the  following  classes : — 

1.  Punuc  rucu  (old  man  sleeping),  sixty  years  and  upwards. 

2.  Chaupi  rucu  (“half  old”),  fifty  to  sixty  years.  Doing  light 
work. 

3.  Puric  (able-bodied),  twenty-five  to  fifty.  Tribute  payer  and 
head  of  the  family. 

4.  Yma  huayma  (almost  a youth),  twenty  to  twenty-five.  Worker. 

5.  Coca  palla  (coca  picker),  sixteen  to  twenty.  Worker. 

6.  Pucllac  huamra,  eight  to  eighteen.  Light  work. 

7.  Ttanta  raquizic  (bread  receiver),  six  to  eight. 

8.  Macta  puric,  under  six. 

9.  Saya  huamrac,  able  to  stand. 

10.  Mosoc  caparic,  baby  in  arms.21 


A somewhat  similar  classification  seems  to  have  been  rec- 
ognized by  the  Aztec,22  and  even  out  in  the  bison  hunting 
area  many  tribes  were  regarded  as  composed  of  boys,  young 
men,  warriors,  and  old  men,  each  class  having  certain  privi- 
leges and  duties. 

It  so  happens  that  in  several  parts  of  the  world  where 
such  age-grades  are  recognized,  we  find  a series  of  men’s 
societies  organized  from  these  different  age-ranks,  and  in 
the  aggregate  presenting  the  example  of  a series  of  so- 
cieties, membership  in  which  is  restricted  to  separate  life 
periods.  In  such  a system,  one  would  begin  by  joining  a 
boys’  society  and  so  gradually  pass  at  the  proper  age  to  the 
next  higher  and  so  on  through  life.2*  The  attention  given 
this  subject  by  many  writers  elevates  it  to  one  of  great 
theoretical  importance,  but  so  far  the  phenomenon  of  age- 
graded  societies  appears  in  the  New  World  only  in  the 
bison  area.  Lowie,24  who  is  the  most  recent  student  of  this 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


172 

subject,  makes  a good  case  for  its  independent  origin  in 
this  small  locality,  suggesting  that  it  is  here  at  least  merely 
the  accidental  outgrowth  of  the  more  fundamental  tendency 
to  segregate  according  to  age. 

TOTEMIC  FEATURES 

There  is  one  aspect  of  social  grouping  that  deserves  fur- 
ther notice,  even  in  such  a brief  account  as  this.  The  terms 
totem  and  totemism  have  come  to  stand  for  a distinct  body 
of  literature  and  indicate  a respectable  complex  of  sociolog- 
ical theory.  If,  for  example,  we  review  the  recognized 
names  people  give  to  their  clans  and  gentes,  most  of  them 
are  seen  to  be  derived  from  the  names  for  animals.  Thus 
Morgan,25  the  great  pioneer  in  this  field,  finds  the  Iroquois 
to  have  the  following  clans:  Wolf,  Bear,  Beaver,  Turtle, 
Deer,  Snipe,  Heron,  Hawk. 

Similar  naming  systems  are  found  among  nearly  all  the 
clan  peoples  of  North  America,  but  it  is  not  so*  clear  that 
this  is  equally  true  of  those  having  gentes. 

The  significant  point,  however,  is  taken  to  he  the  mean- 
ing of  this  animal  name.  In  almost  every  case  it  can  be 
explained  only  by  the  mythical  narrative  accounting  for 
the  origin  of  the  group  in  question,  which  deals  with  an 
animal-like  being  to  whom  the  origin  of  the  organization  is 
ascribed,  if  indeed  this  being  is  not  the  true  initial  parent. 
The  result  is  that  if  this  being  should  be  in  some  way  asso- 
ciated with  the  black  bear,  for  example,  the  people  of  the 
group  would  call  themselves  the  black  bear  clan  and  would 
look  upon  all  such  bears  as  related  to  them.  In  short,  the 
bear,  or  a bear,  would  come  to  be  the  totem  of  the  group.26 
As  the  discussion  of  this  subject  will  require  some  data  on 
religion  and  mythology,  we  may  best  postpone  its  further 
consideration. 

Our  previous  citations  of  the  associations  between  mar- 
riage restrictions  and  the  clan-gens  system  may  prepare  us 


TOTEMS 


173 

for  further  complications,  for  the  conception  of  a clan-gens 
ancestor  and  the  group  animal  name  will  bring  the  totem 
into  prominence  when  marriage  systems  are  considered.  To 
this  association,  we  shall  revert  in  a succeeding  chapter. 
One  of  the  important  problems  for  us,  here,  is  the  place  and 
manner  of  origin  for  the  New  World  totemic  complex. 
This,  like  many  others  of  its  kind,  must  rest  with  the  fu- 
ture. So  far,  analytic  studies  have  shown  that  the  various 
systems  of  totemic  practices  growing  up  around  these  an- 
cestral and  other  concepts  have  different  historical  origins 
and  so  are  not  to  be  explained  as  instinctive  or  as  diffused 
from  a common  center;  yet,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
sameness  of  the  underlying  concepts  throughout  the  New 
World  must  be  accounted  for  by  one  or  the  other  of  these 
hypotheses.27  From  its  distribution,  we  have  a strong  pre- 
sumption that  the  New  World  clan  or  gens  system  is  a cor- 
relate of  higher  political  and  industrial  organization,  since 
it  is  among  the  loosely  organized  tribes  that  it  does  not  oc- 
cur, but  just  where  the  totemic  factor  enters  the  complex 
is  not  clear. 

In  closing  this  brief  glance  at  the  social  grouping  of  abo- 
riginal man  in  the  New  World,  we  may  be  impressed  with 
the  tendency  for  each  social  feature  to  localize.  Thus, 
whether  it  be  merely  a matter  of  terminology  for  uncles 
and  aunts,  methods  of  regulating  marriage,  or  what  not,  we 
find  it  not  scattered  up  and  down  the  Americas  at  random, 
but  gathered  into  more  or  less  distinct  geographical  areas. 
It  is  this  observed  geographical  distribution  of  the  several 
social  groupings  we  have  noted  in  the  New  World  that  sug- 
gests their  historical  origin  in  opposition  to  an  innate  one. 
It  is  now  clear  that  we  may  have  an  evolution  of  society 
that  is  determined  by  the  conditions  of  the  time  and  place 
and  not  by  the  inborn  traits  of  the  people  producing  it. 
This  seems  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  interpretation  of  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


174 

data  on  social  grouping,  for  more  complete  knowledge  makes 
it  impossible  to  believe  that  the  bands,  clans,  gentes,  etc., 
have  a definite  place  in  the  mere  organic  evolution  of  peoples 
in  the  New  World. 


1.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 

2.  Bandelier,  1879.  I. 

3.  Parker,  1916. 1 ;•  Morgan,  1904. 1. 

4.  Morgan,  1870.  I;  1878.  I; 
1904.  I. 

5.  Bandelier,  1879.  I. 

6.  Rivers,  1914.  I. 

7.  Lowie,  1914,  I;  1916.  I; 
1920.  I ; Goldenweiser,  1914.  I ; 
Swanton,  1905.  I;  1906.  I. 

8.  Goldenweiser,  1910.  I. 

9.  Kroeber,  1917.  I. 

10.  Morgan,  1904.  I. 

11.  Skinner,  1913.  I. 

12.  Murie,  1914.  I. 

13.  Dorsey,  J.  O.,  1897.  I. 

14.  Gifford,  1916.  I. 


15.  Morgan,  1904.  I. 

16.  Lowie,  1914.  I. 

17.  Stefansson,  1914.  I,  p.  331. 

18.  Lowie,  1915.  I;  1916.  I;  1917* 
I;  Rivers,  1914.  I. 

19.  Tylor  (no  date). 

20.  Kane,  1859.  I. 

21.  Markham,  1910.  I,  p.  161. 

22.  Bandelier,  1879.  I- 

23.  Lowie,  1916.  II ; Rivers,  1914. 
I;  Schurtz,  1902.  I;  Webster, 
1908.  I. 

24.  Lowie,  1916.  II. 

25.  Morgan,  1904.  I,  p.  75. 

26.  Frazer,  1910.  I. 

27.  Goldenweiser,  1910.  I. 


CHAPTER  XI 


SOCIAL  REGULATION 

This  work  can  scarcely  be  considered  complete  without 
some  more  definite  discussion  of  social  control.  With  the 
general  modes  of  control,  such  as  are  almost  universal 
among  mankind,  we  have  nothing  to  do,  such  subjects  prop- 
erly belonging  to  sociology,  our  concern  being  with  the 
particular  machinery  by  which  this  control  is  exercised. 
When  a man  commits  a crime  his  social  group  is  presented 
with  a problem  for  which  the  mode  of  attack  is  already  con- 
ventionalized. To  meet  such  contingencies  the  highly  or- 
ganized governments  of  Peru  and  Mexico  maintained  com- 
plex judicial  systems.  In  the  former  country  each  village 
had  its  appointed  judge  to  whom  the  inspectors,  or  dis- 
ciplinarians, reported  all  irregularities.  There  was  one  of 
these  inspectors  for  each  recognized  social  unit.1  The 
village  judge  dealt  with  all  such  cases  and  levied  the  pun- 
ishments, usually  beating  or  whipping,  and,  if  the  code  re- 
quired, execution.  It  seems,  however,  that  these  petty 
magistrates  were  not  permitted  to  try  important  cases,  par- 
ticularly those  which  we  class  as  civil.  At  regular  periods 
officials  from  the  capital  visited  each  province  and  held 
court  for  the  presentation  of  complaints  and  petitions. 
Though  the  data  leave  us  in  doubt,  they  imply  that  appeals 
from  the  decisions  of  the  local  magistrate  could  be  filed 
in  this  court.  At  any  rate,  these  traveling  judicial  inspec- 
tors reported  back  to  the  supreme  judicial  bureau,  which 
body,  in  turn,  delegated  judges  to  visit  the  locality  of  the 
petitioner  and  try  the  case. 

For  the  Nahua  system  we  have  abundant  data  in  so  far 
i75 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


176 

as  they  apply  to  the  City  of  Mexico.2  Here  the  calpulli, 
or  gens,  had  representatives  who  sat  as  a lower  court  be- 
fore whom  all  irregularities  were  presented  by  the  proper 
officers ; but  all  their  important  decisions  were  passed  up  to 
a higher  court,  consisting  of  a number  of  judges  appointed 
by  the  ruler.  These  held  court  daily  in  a special  chamber 
of  the  palace.  In  addition,  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
special  body  of  thirteen  judges  who  sat  with  the  ruler  at 
stated  periods  for  the  review  of  unusually  important  cases. 
Finally,  there  was  a grand  chief  justice  who  stood  as  the 
responsible  head  of  the  system.  To  what  extent  the  sub- 
ject cities  and  provinces  shared  in  this  system  is  not  clear, 
but  we  are  informed  that  their  local  courts  were  required 
to  refer  their  decisions  to  the  higher  courts  of  Mexico  City. 
For  the  earlier  Maya  we  have  very  little  data,  but  since 
their  culture  was  of  a high  order  and  contributed  liberally 
to  the  later  Nahua,  we  may  safely  assume  an  almost  equally 
complex  system. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  we  noted  a striking  similarity 
in  the  social  organizations  of  Peru  and  Mexico  in  that  their 
political  complexes  were  built  of  gens-like  units.  Here  we 
see  that  their  judicial  systems  also  were  based  upon  these 
same  units,  for  at  the  bottom  were  the  courts  or  magis- 
trates for  the  gens,  subordinate  to  the  magistrates  of  the 
governing  gens.  In  the  same  way  that  a single  warlike 
gens  built  up  a political  complex  by  subjecting  other  gens 
or  groups  of  gens  to  its  rule,  it  also  erected  a system  of 
control  and  discipline.  We  may  anticipate,  therefore,  that 
as  we  leave  these  centers  of  military  culture  we  shall  find 
little  more  than  the  separate  individual  gens  systems.  For 
example,  south  of  Peru  were  the  Araucans  with  a loose 
political  system ; and  here  we  are  told  the  “law  of  revenge” 
was  supreme,  that  is,  the  individual  was  his  own  judge  and 
executioner.  Colombia  and  Ecuador  doubtless  had  some- 
thing of  a judicial  system,  but  elsewhere  in  South  America 


JUDICIAL  SYSTEMS  177 

we  find  only  simple  tribal  groups  where  folk  justice  was 
free  from  all  restraints. 

Turning  back  to  North  America  and  beginning  at  the 
farthest  north  with  the  extremely  simple  culture  of  the 
Eskimo,  we  find  a considerable  body  of  regulations,  as 
must  be  the  case  in  any  well-formed  culture,  but  still  no 
effective  judicial  machinery  to  enforce  them.  If  a man 
finds  his  conventional  rights  trod  upon,  he  has  no  recourse 
except  to  resort  to  blood  vengeance.  Yet,  we  do  find  in- 
cipient judicial  procedure,  for  among  the  Hudson  Bay 
Eskimo  the  men  of  a group  may,  in  consultation,  condemn 
an  obnoxious  individual  and  arrange  for  some  one  to  dis- 
patch him  at  the  first  opportunity.3  Again,  in  Greenland 
there  is  a definite  mode  of  dealing  with  an  offender  by 
challenging  him  to  a public  contest  in  which  he  is  made  to 
face  his  opponent  who  sings  derisive  songs  specifying  his 
misdeeds.4  Such  ordeals  are  not  only  used  in  case  of  theft 
and  murder,  but  even  to  discipline  a lazy  or  incompetent 
person. 

In  the  great  interior  of  Canada  among  the  Dene  tribes 
and  eastward,  the  fundamental  legal  procedure  was  about  as 
above,  each  group  of  people  being  informally  dominated 
by  one  or  more  head  men  who  exercised  whatever  judicial 
functions  there  were.  The  same  can  be  said  of  the  interior 
salmon  area;  but  throughout,  the  right  of  blood  vengeance 
was  recognized.  For  example,  we  are  told  that  among  the 
Shoshoni  the  head  man,  or  chief,  did  not  concern  himself 
•with  murders,  but  left  that  to  the  injured  party.5 

In  general,  we  can  say  that  this  loose  type  of  personal 
freedom  to  revenge,  without  definite  judicial  procedure,  is 
distributed  from  southern  California  northward  through  the 
Plateaus,  the  Plains,  Canada,  Alaska,  and  Greenland. 
However,  in  Washington,  Oregon,  northern  California,  and 
practically  everywhere  in  the  Plains,  we  find  the  idea  of 
compounding,  or  paying  the  injured  party.  Referring  to 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


178 

the  map  for  social  groups,  we  note  that  this  distribution 
follows  closely  the  limits  of  the  simple  band,  or  village 
type  of  grouping. 

Turning  now  to  the  regions  manifesting  gens  and  clan 
organizations,  we  note  that  in  the  North  Pacific  Coast  area 
there  is  little  to  add,  except  that  the  idea  of  compounding 
by  gifts  of  property  or  slaves  is  rather  prominent.  When  a 
murder  is  committed,  the  essential  payment  is  a life  of  equal 
rank,  but  this  applies  when  the  parties  are  of  different 
families,  whereas,  within  the  family,  the  family  chief  ad- 
justs the  case.  In  short,  the  blood  vengeance  again  holds 
here  and  a distinct  judicial  procedure  has  so  far  not  been 
brought  to  notice,  nor  do  we  hear  of  police  officers.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  blood  vengeance  was  so  far  formalized 
that  the  taking  of  a life  by  the  injured  party  closed  the 
incident  and  did  not  lead  to  an  endless  chain  of  murders. 

Shifting  eastward  to  the  great  gens  area  around  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  the  Great  Lakes,  we  find  something 
more  elaborate.  In  the  first  place,  the  Siouan  group  of 
tribes  clustering  around  the  Missouri  had  a well-developed 
police  system  which,  however,  had  no  definite  relation  to  a 
gens  group,  but  was  initiated  and  controlled  by  a governing 
head  for  the  whole  tribal  group  of  gentes.6  A further  pecu- 
liarity of  this  is  that  such  a government  was  transitory  or 
periodical,  being  called  into  life  each  spring  and  ending 
with  the  last  fall  bison  hunt.  For  the  gens  itself  there 
was  no  judicial  system  other  than  the  individual  acts  of 
its  members.  About  the  only  formal  procedure  was  one 
that  seems  genetically  related  to  the  calumet  idea ; for  exam- 
ple, certain  head  men  could  wave  a pipe  over  contending 
parties  who  were  then  bound  to  desist  or  to  be  set  upon  by 
the  community. 

Turning  now  to  the  Algonkin-speaking  tribes  occupying 
the  greater  part  of  the  Ohio  and  St.  Lawrence  drainage,  we 
find  no  trace  of  a police  system  except  among  a few  .groups 


179 


JUDICIAL  SYSTEMS 

in  immediate  contact  with  the  Siouans.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  seem  to  have  a more  sharply  defined  gens  system  in 
which  the  idea  that  the  gens  is  responsible  for  the  acts 
of  a member  is  clearly  formalized.  Yet,  we  cannot  be  sure 
as  to  this,  since  in  many  cases,  as,  for  example,  among  the 
Ojibway,  where  the  gens  lines  do  not  correspond  to  the 
local  grouping  and  the  local  group  seems  itself  to  be  the 
judicial  unit.  So  it  may  turn  out  that  what  we  have  here 
is  merely  an  emphasized  idea  of  the  community’s  respon- 
sibility, a factor  common  in  some  degree  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  most  interesting  point  here,  however,  is  a 
highly  formalized  procedure  which  constitutes  a kind  of 
trial  under  the  authority  of  the  chief  and  the  shaman.7 
The  principle  of  procedure  is  that  the  friends  and  relatives 
of  the  deceased  are  persuaded  by  gifts  and  speeches  to  for- 
give the  offense.  If  they  cannot  be  so  persuaded,  the  pris- 
oner is  executed  at  once.  This  precise  form  of  judicial 
procedure  is  found  among  the  Ojibway  and  Micmac,  with 
suggestions  of  it  throughout  the  whole  stretch  of  Algonkin 
peoples.  The  Iroquois  also  had  formal  trials,  but  the  pro- 
cedure was  different;  witches,  for  example,  were  tried  be- 
fore the  council,  a regularly  constituted  body,  but  murderers 
were  subject  to  immediate  revenge  by  the  injured  family, 
unless  a peace  token  was  offered.  Yet,  the  council  could 
intercede  and  try  to  mediate.  This  failing,  the  aggrieved 
were  left  free  to  exercise  their  right,  which  in  turn  might 
call  for  retaliation.8 

As  to  the  tribes  of  the  Gulf  States  who  had  progressed  so 
far  as  to  form  strong  confederacies,  and  where  we  have 
reason  to  expect  some  judicial  system,  no  very  exact  state- 
ment can  be  made.  We  infer  from  the  available  sources 
that  murders  and  lesser  crimes  were  left  to  adjustment  by 
the  interested  parties,  blood  vengeance  being  the  rule.9  It 
is  true  that  the  village  government  seems  to  have  had  a few 
police  officers,  but  these  were  to  preserve  order  at  ceremonies 


i8o 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


and  to  regulate  labor  in  the  communal  fields,  not  to  punish 
offenses  against  the  individual.  However,  as  to  trials  and 
formal  methods  of  adjusting  crimes,  we  are  left  with  the 
impression  that  in  this  particular  the  tribes  of  the  south 
were  far  behind  their  northern  neighbors.  We  should  not 
forget,  however,  that  this  may  be  an  unjust  estimate  aris- 
ing from  inadequate  data.  One  judicial  principle  strongly 
developed  in  the  south  is  that  the  murderer  shall  be  killed 
in  precisely  the  same  way  as  his  victim,  and  this,  again, 
holds  for  the  Iroquois,  but  not  for  the  surrounding  Algonkin 
tribes. 

There  remains  but  one  more  area  in  North  America,  vis., 
southwestern  United  States.  Among  the  less  sedentary 
peoples,  as  the  Apache  and  Navajo,  the  idea  of  compensa- 
tion for  murder  and  minor  injuries  prevailed.  Adjustments 
were  usually  made  in  public,  but  the  decision  seems  to  have 
rested  with  the  injured  party.  They  could,  if  they  chose, 
exercise  the  right  of  vengeance,  but  the  other  side  was  then 
free  to  retaliate.  For  the  Pueblo  peoples  proper  we  lack 
adequate  data,  but  the  inference  is  that  the  paying  of  an 
indemnity  was  universal.10  In  general,  the  governing  ma- 
chinery of  these  villages  seems  to  have  been  directed  toward 
religious  ends  rather  than  otherwise  and  so  to  a large  extent 
rests  with  the  few  properly  accredited  officials.  It  is  true 
that  there  was  a constant  night  patrol  of  the  villages  and 
on  ceremonial  occasions  a day  police,  but  that  these  officers 
acted  in  case  of  murder  or  theft  is  improbable. 

Now  that  we  are  at  the  end  of  this  somewhat  tedious 
survey,  we  may  summarize  the  data,  meager  though  they 
be.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  only  the  complex  governments  of 
Peru  and  Mexico  that  exercised  systematic  judicial  func- 
tions in  what  we  consider  criminal  cases.  Almost  every- 
where else  the  family  group,  the  gens  or  clan,  as  the  case 
may  be,  was  left  to  its  own  devices  in  meeting  such  situa- 
tions, There  were  always  conventional  ways  of  proceeding, 


JUDICIAL  SYSTEMS.  181 

but  these  were  almost  entirely  outside  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  tribal  government.  Everywhere,  of  course,  the  concept 
of  “life  for  life”  is  entertained,  but  the  tendency  in  the 
New  World  is  for  the  true  blood  feud  to  be  found  among 
those  tribes  having  the  simplest  family  organizations,  whose 
distribution  is  shown  on  our  map  for  social  grouping;  while 
in  the  regions  of  clans  and  gentes  provision  is  made  for  com- 
pensating the  injured  parties  either  by  a single  execution,  for 
which  no  retaliation  is  permitted  or  by  the  payment  of  an  in- 
demnity. That  this  seemingly  close  correlation  indicates  a 
true  functional  relation  between  the  two  is  doubtful,  since  it 
may  be  largely  a matter  of  geographical  segregation;  yet, 
there  remains  the  undeniable  fact  that  at  least  the  conven- 
tional methods  of  dealing  with  crime  have  geographical  dis- 
tributions in  every  way  comparable  to  those  for  other  traits 
of  culture.  Hence,  their  presence  in  any  given  locality  is  to 
be  explained  by  historical  principles  and  not  as  due  to  inher- 
ent reactions.  The  principle  of  “blood  for  blood”  may  be 
innate  and  consequently  world-wide,  but  its  mere  presence 
does  not  account  for  the  conventional  procedures  we  have 
noted,  nor  for  their  peculiar  distributions. 

Like  every  other  subject  in  this  volume,  this  one  admits 
of  great  elaboration,  but  space  and  time  forbid  more  than 
nassing  notice  of  a few  collateral  practices.  Thus,  it  often 
happens  that  the  shaman  in  a group  comes  to  have  an  official 
relation  to  its  judicial  system.  This  is  particularly  notice- 
able among  the  wilder  peoples  of  South  America  where  the 
shaman,  or  peaiman,  becomes  apprehender,  judge,  and  exe- 
cutioner without  check  or  supervision.11 

As  we  have  noted,  the  idea  of  a trial  in  which  evidence 
is  presented  does  not  apply  to  the  judicial  procedures  we 
have  outlined,  except  in  the  area  of  intense  culture.  Out- 
side of  this  area,  the  only  cases  in  which  proof  of  guilt  is 
sought  by  prosecuting  parties  are  in  the  trials  of  witches  as 
reported  for  the  Iroquois  and  parts  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  At 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


182 

some  of  the  Algonkin  trials  evidence  might  be  produced  to 
show  that  murder,  for  example,  was  excusable,  but  taking 
the  country  at  large,  the  conventional  procedures  assume 
that  the  identity  of  the  guilty  is  known  to  all  concerned  be- 
fore the  trial.  Naturally,  there  are  cases  in  which  the 
identity  of  the  criminal  is  in  doubt,  and  in  such  a con- 
tingency the  shaman  may  be  called  upon  to  discover  him. 
Further,  throughout  both  continents,  and  especially  in  east- 
ern South  America,  normal  death  is  considered  as  probably 
due  to  secret  magic  by  some  personal  enemy,  and  it  is  the 
shaman’s  place  to  discover  the  culprit.  Thus,  we  have  no 
difficulty  in  explaining  how  the  shaman  comes  into  close 
association  with  the  machinery  of  the  law  and  how  in  many 
cases  he  stands  as  the  highest  exponent  of  authority.  The 
regions  where  the  shaman  is  most  supreme  are  precisely 
those  in  which  the  blood  feud  is  least  restrained:  viz.,  the 
Amazon  country,  the  Arctic  coast  belt,  the  interior  of  Can- 
ada, and  the  great  western  plateaus  of  the  United  States. 
Here  he  often  becomes  the  relentless  avenger,  hounding  the 
steps  of  the  real  or  assumed  criminal,  until  opportunity 
presents  itself  for  his  dispatch.12 

Another  subject  of  interest  is  the  oath.  It  has  been 
stated  that  nothing  like  an  oath  existed  in  the  New  World, 
but  we  do  find  customs  that  can  scarcely  be  interpreted  in 
any  other  way.  Obviously  they  serve  the  same  purpose. 
Thus,  when  a Blackfoot  woman  faces  the  sun  in  the  presence 
of  a tribal  priest  and  says,  “May  I never  set  my  foot  into 
another  snow,  if,  etc.,”  or  when  a Dakota,  challenged  as  to 
his  war  record,  touches  a knife  point  held  by  a referee  and 
makes  a similar  pledge,  we  have  the  essentials  of  an  oath. 
In  this  connection  the  remarks  of  Garcilasso  on  the  oath 
taken  by  a native  Peruvian  should  be  read.  While  this 
author  denies  that  the  natives  swear,  yet  the  witness  said : 
“I  wish  that  the  earth  may  swallow  me  up  alive,  as  I stand, 
in  case  I speak  not  the  truth.”  13 


PROPERTY  AND  INHERITANCE  183 

Finally,  some  note  should  be  made  of  the  ordeal,  which 
also  had  its  analogous  forms  in  this  hemisphere.  Through- 
out the  interior  of  Canada  and  even  among  some  of  the 
Eskimo  the  right  to  a woman  and  other  privileges  is  de- 
cided by  a wrestling  match.  In  parts  of  the  Amazon  coun- 
try an  arm  or  leg  is  plunged  into  a vessel  filled  with  vicious 
insects  to  test  the  integrity  of  the  individual,  and  again, 
poisonous  ants  are  allowed  to  bite  one  to  show  his  remorse 
for  injury  to  another.  If  space  permitted,  we  could  work 
out  the  distributions  of  these  practices,  but  we  have  gone 
far  enough  to  reveal  the  character  of  the  phenomena.  Thus, 
we  find  the  principles  of  “life  for  life,”  indemnity,  social 
control  of  settlements,  tests  by  ordeals,  and  oaths,  in  the 
New  World  as  well  as  in  the  Old.  Where  they  differ  is  in 
the  conventionalized  forms  of  procedure.  There  are,  how- 
ever, no  differences  common  to  all  parts  of  the  New  World, 
each  geographical  area  manifesting  some  individuality. 

CONCEPTIONS  OF  PROPERTY  AND  INHERITANCE 

From  our  own  point  of  view,  property  may  be  con- 
veniently comprehended  under  the  classes  of  real  and  per- 
sonal. Real  estate,  or  property  in  lands,  is  with  us  an  in- 
dividual matter,  but  such  an  idea  seems  to  have  been  foreign 
to  the  New  World.  Here  the  land,  in  so  far  as  it  was 
owned  at  all,  was  the  property  of  the  family  group.  The 
Nahua,  with  all  their  complexity,  never  got  above  this  idea, 
nor  did  the  Inca.  The  one  fact  that  makes  this  especially 
clear  is  the  entire  absence  of  the  idea  of  selling  or  conveying 
title  to  lands.14  Other  kinds  of  property  there  were,  which 
were  freely  given  and  exchanged  and  even  levied  upon  by 
the  organized  governments  of  the  central  areas  for  taxes 
or  tribute,  yet  in  no  case  do  we  find  evidence  that  this 
procedure  extended  to  the  land.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
right  to  the  exclusive  use  of  certain  plots  by  the  social 
group,  gens,  clan,  etc.,  was  clearly  recognized.  Yet,  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


184 

true  communal  character  of  the  system  appears  when  we 
note  that  almost  everywhere  there  is  an  annual  allotment 
of  fields  to  the  households  of  the  group,  thus  distinctly 
demonstrating  each  individual’s  equality  in  the  ownership  of 
the  community  land.  As  in  most  other  things,  the  Inca 
and  Nahua  highly  systematized  the  workings  of  these 
fundamental  concepts,  forming  thus  codes  of  land  laws. 
The  boundaries  to  the  group  lands  were  fixed  and  the  death 
penalty  placed  upon  any  one  tampering  with  them.  Also, 
certain  unoccupied  lands  were  set  aside  for  the  support  of 
the  governing  class,  labor  upon  which  was  requisitioned  as 
needed.  One  who  reads  the  special  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject can  scarcely  fail  being  impressed  with  the  thorough 
control  of  agriculture  exercised  by  these  centralized  powers. 
In  each  community  there  were  officials  whose  duty  it  was 
to  call  the  people  to  the  fields,  and  to  direct  their  labors. 
Further,  if  we  follow  out  the  distribution  of  maize  culture 
we  find  associated  with  it  practically  all  of  the  following 
concepts:  the  family  ownership  of  land  without  rights  of 
sale  or  conveyance,  the  setting  aside  of  plots  for  the  rulers 
and  religious  officials,  and,  finally,  the  constant  control  and 
supervision  by  those  in  authority.  Yet,  the  non-agricultural 
areas  have  these  same  characteristics  to  a less  degree; 
hence,  it  is  not  fair  to  assume  that  the  development  of 
agriculture  was  wholly  responsible  for  the  general  com- 
munistic conception,  a conception  universal  from  Cape  Horn 
to  the  Bering  Sea.  Rather  should  we  say  that  this  funda- 
mental communal  concept  is  the  foundation  upon  which 
the  one  grand  agricultural  complex  of  the  New  World  was 
reared. 

Personal  property  in  the  New  World  consisted  of  houses, 
chattels,  produce,  etc.  In  a very  considerable  part  of  North 
America,  at  least,  the  house,  furniture,  and  all  food  was 
the  property  of  the  woman,  regardless  of  whether  descent 
was  reckoned  in  the  male  or  female  line.  No  doubt  a care- 


MARRIAGE  185 

ful  investigation  of  this  subject  would  lead  to  important 
results,  but  this  inquiry  is  for  the  future. 

A form  of  property  not  usually  recognized  by  us  is  that 
of  the  hereditary  right  to  certain  functions  in  the  com- 
munity, as  the  ownership  of  rituals  for  ceremonies,  cere- 
monial songs,  certain  specific  arts  and  trades,  etc.  While 
these  were  often  hereditary  to  definite  social  groups,  we 
frequently  encounter  the  idea  that  the  right  can  be  sold 
or  conveyed  at  will.  Perhaps  closely  associated  with  this  is 
the  custom  of  formally  presenting  gifts  which  in  some 
localities  is  so  systematized  that  it  becomes  a mere  exchange 
of  presents.  In  fact,  we  find  in  the  North  Pacific  area 
under  the  name  “potlatch/’  a very  complicated  system  of 
gifts  on  a loan  and  credit  system.15 

As  to  the  rules  of  inheritance,  little  need  be  said  here. 
Our  previous  discussions  have  shown  that  both  male  and 
female  inheritance  are  recognized  according  to  the  respective 
social  areas.  Since  land  cannot  well  be  alienated  from  the 
initial  group,  the  rules  of  inheritance  can  only  apply  to 
personal  property  and  privileges.  As  to  the  latter,  while 
there  is  some  tendency  to  recognize  the  rights  of  the  son 
to  his  father’s  or  maternal  uncle’s  position  in  the  tribe,  as 
the  particular  system  may  require,  the  usual  procedure  is  to 
exercise  some  kind  of  selection  from  the  several  descend- 
ants as  a guarantee  that  a competent  incumbent  will  be 
secured.  This  is  plainly  noticeable  in  the  Inca  and  Nahua 
systems  and  can  be  safely  taken  as  another  of  the  funda- 
mental elements  in  the  social  structure  of  the  New  World. 

MARRIAGE  REGULATIONS 

As  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  one  cannot  marry  back 
into  his  own  family  nor  among  the  immediate  relatives  of 
his  parents.  Beyond  this,  the  restrictions  vary  as  has  been 
suggested  in  the  preceding  chapter,  becoming  in  the  main 


1 86 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


mere  conventions.  Chastity  before  marriage  seems  not  to 
have  been  required,  but  in  many  places  was  regarded  as 
essential  to  certain  religious  functions,  indicating  that,  after 
all,  it  was  an  ideal.  On  the  other  hand,  adultery  was 
severely  punished  when  the  woman  was  the  offender,  while 
in  many  tribes  the  male  offender  was  regarded  as  innocent. 

One  prominent  trait  among  the  Eskimo  is  the  exchange  of 
wives,  indulged  in  chiefly  as  a matter  of  hospitality.  This 
is  also  found  among  many  of  the  Dene  tribes  of  Canada 
and  an  analogous  custom  is  found  in  parts  of  the  bison  area. 
In  most  parts  of  both  continents  there  seem  to  have  been 
certain  festivals  during  which  restrictions  were  relaxed,  but 
the  latitude  granted  by  all  these  social  sanctions  did  not 
weaken  the  gravity  of  transgression  under  other  conditions. 

As  to  forms  of  marriage,  it  appears  that  the  general 
tendency  in  both  continents  was  monogamous.  On  the  other 
hand,  almost  everywhere  the  custom  was  for  chiefs,  priests, 
and  shamans  to  have  more  than  one  wife.  In  the  centers 
of  higher  culture,  those  occupying  positions  of  power  and 
influence  kept  large  establishments  for  women.  The  area 
in  which  plural  marriage  seems  strongest  is  the  bison  area 
of  North  America,  but  this  may  be  a partial  exaggeration 
due  to  relatively  richer  data.  Some  reports  for  the  Eskimo 
and  Dene  tribes  indicate  occasional  states  of  plural  hus- 
bands, but  this  appears  rather  as  an  adjustment  to  necessity 
than  as  an  established  mode  of  marriage.  So  thus,  taking 
the  New  World  as  a whole,  we  find  it  singularly  free  of 
anything  like  group  marriage,  such  as  is  found  in  the 
Pacific  Islands  and  Asia.  Yet  we  do  find  forms  of  cross- 
cousin marriage  in  California  and  northward  into  the  sal- 
mon area;16  also,  it  has  been  found  in  Guiana,  South 
America. 

The  notion  that  the  husband  of  a woman  acquired  supe- 
rior rights  to  his  wife’s  sisters  is  found  in  many  parts  of 
the  New  World,  and  its  natural  correlate,  the  taking  over 


EDUCATION 


187 

of  a brother’s  or,  in  some  cases,  a maternal  uncle’s  widow. 
These  are  particularly  strong  wherever  plural  wives  are 
common.  On  the  other  hand,  strict  and  universal  monog- 
amy holds  for  a few  communities,  as  the  Iroquois  and 
certain  Pueblo  villages  of  southwestern  United  States. 

Marriage  ceremonies  and  the  regulations  for  divorce  vary 
greatly  from  tribe  to  tribe,  making  their  discussion  here 
Impractical.  The  conventional  exchange  of  presents  pre- 
viously noted  is  so  developed  in  some  localities  as  to  give 
the  impression  that  a man  purchases  his  wife,  but  in  many 
such  cases  the  relatives  also  make  an  equal  return  as  a pre- 
liminary to  the  ceremony.  Yet,  when  property  is  given  to 
the  bride’s  family,  whether  as  gift  or  purchase,  and  the 
woman  for  any  cause  deserts  her  husband,  he  can  demand 
equivalent  return.  In  Peru  and  Mexico  the  governments 
regulated  divorce,  but  elsewhere  the  parties  could  separate 
at  will,  though  the  respective  families  of  each  party  had  a 
voice  in  the  settlement. 


EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  DISCIPLINE 

We  sometimes  read  specific  statements  that  infanticide 
and  neglect  of  the  helpless  prevailed  in  the  New  World,  but 
a moment’s  reflection  will  make  clear  the  improbability  of 
either  having  been  the  rule.  The  exposing  of  infants  was 
resorted  to  only  in  case  of  necessity  or  advisability.  Thus, 
in  the  Amazon  country,  if  the  mother  die  soon  after  confine- 
ment, the  child  will  be  buried  with  her  or  otherwise  disposed 
of,  unless  some  woman  volunteers  to  rear  it.  This  seems 
to  have  been  common  in  other  regions  as  well,  but  the 
Eskimo  visited  by  Stefansson 17  often  exposed  female  infants 
to  preserve  the  balance  between  population  and  sustenance. 
As  to  the  aged  and  sick,  we  have  the  formal  practice  of 
putting  to  death  among  some  of  the  Eskimo  and  Dene,  a 
custom  also  found  in  Siberia.  On  the  other  hand,  among 


1 88  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

all  hunting  peoples  who  shift  about  from  place  to  place, 
the  infirm  are  often  of  necessity  left  behind  to  their  fate. 
Yet  the  reported  examples  of  such  cruelties  can  usually  be 
matched  by  incidents  of  the  opposite  tenor,  and  since  the 
mythologies  of  the  various  tribal  groups  contain  plots  show- 
ing retribution  for  such  cruelties,  and  herald  the  triumphs 
of  the  oppressed  over  the  unjust,  we  must  regard  all  such 
phenomena  as  exceptional. 

Travelers  everywhere  have  remarked  upon  the  extreme 
indulgence  toward  children.  This  is  very  marked  among 
the  Eskimo,  though  perhaps  not  more  so  than  among  the 
Fuegians  of  South  America.  Wherever  we  have  data,  par- 
ents almost  never  punish  or  even  severely  reprove,  but  such 
pressure  as  may  be  needed  is  exercised  by  certain  relatives. 
In  the  United  States  this  is  sometimes  the  clan  or  gens  uncle 
of  the  offender,  according  to  sex  and  mode  of  inheritance. 
Though  our  information  for  Peru  and  Mexico  is  in  this 
respect  vague,  something  similar  seems  to  have  applied 
there.  In  any  case,  these  higher  cultures  had  some  formal 
provisions  for  training.  For  example,  in  Mexico  City  there 
were  two  kinds  of  schools,  those  for  religious  instruction 
and  those  for  military  training.  To  the  former,  both  sexes 
were  admitted  in  a manner  closely  analogous  to  the  con- 
vent system  of  Europe.  A similar  custom  held  for  the  Maya 
and  the  Peruvians. 

A point  of  special  interest  here  is  that  one  aspect  of  this 
cloister-like  school  is  found  in  contiguous  parts  of  North 
America.  We  note  that  these  children,  particularly  the 
boys,  went  to  live  in  the  school  or  in  barracks,  or  rather, 
they  slept  there  of  nights.  This  trait  is  particularly  prom- 
inent in  Maya  and  Nahua  culture.  Among  the  Pueblos  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  the  kiva  or  ceremonial  chamber  was  the 
sleeping  place  of  males  and  a similar  practice  is  found  in 
parts  of  California  and  northward. 

Outside  of  these  regions,  nothing  like  a school  appears, 


EDUCATION  189 

but  here  and  there  seem  to  have  been  some  kind  of  dis- 
ciplinary officials,  as  for  example  the  men  who  superintended 
the  morning  baths  of  boys  in  the  bison  area.  Chastising 
the  young  seems  to  have  been  practised  in  the  centers  of 
higher  culture,  but  outside  of  these  limits  was  practically 
unknown.  Exceptions  must  be  made,  however,  of  cere- 
monial whippings  in  southeastern  United  States  and  the 
Amazon  country.  In  short,  the  same  principle  applied  to 
control  of  the  young  as  to  adults,  viz.,  admonition  and  ridi- 
cule. White  people  living  with  American  natives  are  re- 
peatedly astonished  at  their  extreme  sensitiveness  to  dis- 
approval and  ridicule.  In  fact,  the  whole  control  of  the 
local  group  in  aboriginal  days  seems  to  have  been  exercised 
by  admonition  and  mild  ridicule  instead  of  by  force  and 
punishment.  While  the  necessities  of  the  case  modified  this 
in  Mexico  and  Peru,  we  still  note  that  one  prominent  fea- 
ture of  Nahua  life  was  the  elaboration  of  the  moral  lec- 
ture.18 In  the  Pueblo  region  of  the  Rio  Grande  the  chiefs 
and  head  men  were  given  to  daily  moral  lectures,  and  while 
the  custom  did  not  appear  so  frequently  elsewhere,  it  was 
still  in  evidence.  Perhaps  we  are  again  dealing  with  a gen- 
eral characteristic  of  New  World  society. 

In  this  connection  some  note  may  be  taken  of  the  ideals 
that  were  held  up  to  the  young  in  these  lectures,  particularly 
for  boys.  The  Nahua  put  great  emphasis  upon  the  art  of 
war,  the  taking  of  prisoners,  and  even  of  scalps.19  They 
maintained  a series  of  graded  war  honors  in  the  form  of 
paint,  styles  of  hair-cut,  and  finally,  eagle  feathers.  Such 
ideals  and  customs  were  also  prominent  in  all  the  outlying 
regions  of  lower  culture,  but  particularly  close  parallels 
are  observable  in  the  Indians  of  our  western  plains.  Yet 
in  the  matter  of  tribal  ideals  we  are  lamentably  weak  in 
data  and  can  at  best  only  infer  their  character  and  content 
from  mythology  and  other  secondary  sources.  Scarcely 
anyone  has  ever  taken  the  trouble  to  record  the  homely  re- 


190 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


marks  and  conversations  of  elderly  natives  on  what  one 
ought  to  strive  for  in  life.  Nevertheless,  it  is  plain  that 
it  is  to  these  ideals  we  must  look  for  the  origin  of  the 
forces  that  make  native  cultures  what  they  are,  deep  hidden 
undercurrents,  as  it  were,  not  unlike  the  subconscious  in 


one’s  individual  mental  life. 

1.  Joyce,  1912.  I;  Markham, 
1910.  I. 

2.  Bandelier,  1878.  I. 

3.  Boas,  1907.  I,  p.  1 17. 

4.  Thalbitzer,  1914.  I. 

5.  Lowie,  1909.  I;  1920.  I. 

6.  Wissler,  1912.  III. 

7.  Hickey,  1883,  I,  PP-  550-556. 

8.  Morgan,  1904.  I ; Vol.  1,  p.  321. 

9.  Adair,  1775.  I;  Cushman, 
1899.  I. 


10.  Bandelier,  1890.  I,  p.  205. 

11.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I. 

12.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I. 

13.  Garcilasso,  1688.  I. 

14.  Bandelier,  1878.  I. 

15.  Boas,  1897.  II. 

16.  Lowie,  1920.  I. 

17.  Stefansson,  1914.  I;  1919.  I. 

18.  Barnes,  E.  and  M.  S.,  1896.  I; 
Sahagun,  1880.  I. 

19.  Sahagun,  1880.  I,  p.  58. 


CHAPTER  XII 


RITUALISTIC  OBSERVANCES 

Formal  ceremonialism,  or  ritualism,  was  developed  to  an 
unusual  degree  in  the  New  World.  The  high  poetic  feel- 
ing of  the  natives  and  their  fondness  for  symbolism  is 
strikingly  reflected  in  their  tribal  mythologies.  This  also 
finds  expression  in  formal  and  ritualistic  procedures,  usually 
in  connection  with  songs.  However,  before  entering  into 
generalizations  on  American  ritualism  we  must  review  some 
of  its  typical  forms. 

In  the  regions  of  higher  culture  we  find  the  political  or- 
ganization closely  paralleled  by  a priestly  hierarchy.  Thus, 
in  Peru,  the  priest  of  the  sun  at  Cuzco,  a near  relative  of 
the  ruler,  was  the  head  of  the  religious  system,  and  for 
each  province  another  member  of  the  family  served  as  a 
sub-priest.  Under  each  of  the  latter  was  a complex  of 
priestly  offices  and  functions.  The  ruler  himself  was  a 
sacred  person  not  to  be  looked  upon  by  common  men.  The 
supreme  power  was  conceived  as  resting  in  a culture  hero, 
commonly  passing  under  the  name,  Viracocha,  though  a 
number  of  other  names  appear  in  the  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject, with  somewhat  contradictory  attributes,  seemingly  due 
to  original  differences  between  the  older  creator  gods  for 
the  several  localities,  differences  which  the  Inca  conquest 
could  not  entirely  eradicate.  The  true  Viracocha  seems  to 
have  been  a white  man  with  a long  gray  beard,  whose  acts 
and  disappearance  have  a curious  resemblance  to  those  of 
similar  characters  in  the  mythologies  of  the  wilder  peoples 
of  both  continents.  That  Viracocha  was  a highly  personal 


192 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


and  spiritual  being  is  shown  by  one  of  the  Inca  prayers 
to  him  as  translated  by  Sir  Clements  Markham.1 

Next  in  rank  to  Viracocha  were  the  heavenly  bodies  of 
which  the  sun  was  the  most  significant.  The  moon,  the 
earth  (All-Mother),  and  on  the  coast,  the  sea  (Mother 
Sea),  were  also  of  great  importance.  As  a rule,  temples 
and  priests  were  for  these  gods  only  and  not  for  Viracocha, 
the  creator  of  culture.  Sacrifices  and  gifts  were  likewise 
to  them  and  not  to  the  latter.  Below  these  gods  stood  in- 
numerable objects  invested  with  huaca , a term  difficult  to 
define,  but  seemingly  equivalent  to  wakan  and  manitou,  as 
used  by  the  wilder  tribes  of  North  America.  All  these  ob- 
jects, or  huaca , were  the  places  of  sacrifice  and  observance 
for  which  priests  were  detailed. 

From  what  we  know  of  Chibcha,  Maya,  and  Nahua  re- 
ligions, this  outline  of  Inca  beliefs  will  serve  as  the  type. 
Each  had  its  creator,  then  the  heavenly  bodies  to  which 
sacrifices  were  made,  and  lastly  a long  array  of  fetish-like 
objects  invested  with  some  holy  quality.  Throughout,  the 
political  functions  of  the  rulers  were  so  closely  intertwined 
with  the  priestly  functions,  that  a strict  separation  of  them 
is  quite  impossible.  Thus,  the  Maya  system  provided  a 
religious  program  for  each  day  in  the  year,  or  a complete 
cycle  of  never-ending  services.  The  great  Maya  calendar 
is  essentially  the  recorded  order  of  these  ceremonies,  rather 
than  a dating  device,  the  day  being  named  after  the  god  to 
be  recognized  in  its  particular  form  of  worship.  That  an 
analogous  calendar  existed  in  Peru  is  most  certain,  but 
seems  lost  beyond  recovery. 

The  present  status  of  our  subject  makes  it  difficult  to  truly 
characterize  the  ceremonial  patterns  for  these  four  great 
centers,  but  certain  striking  features  may  be  noted.  The 
Maya  and  Nahua  are  notorious  for  the  extent  of  their 
human  sacrifice  systems.  One  common  form  of  such  sacri- 
fice was  to  bind  the  victim  to  a frame  or  pole  and  shoot 


RITUALISM 


193 


him  full  of  darts.  This  was  a custom  in  Colombia  also. 
For  Peru  there  is  conflicting  evidence,  the  Inca  being  cred- 
ited with  prohibiting  the  practice  by  some  authorities,  but 
it  is  clear  that  the  custom  did  prevail  at  one  time.  We 
may  infer,  therefore,  that  such  sacrifices  were  fundamental 
traits  among  the  many  small  social  groups  from  which  these 
great  military  empires  were  built  up.  Human  sacrifice, 
however,  appears  but  as  an  exceptional  element  in  a larger 
complex,  for  from  Mexico  to  Chile  throughout,  there  was 
a daily  round  of  sacrifices  of  animals,  birds,  fruits,  and  in- 
animate objects. 

It  has  frequently  been  remarked  how  the  great  historic 
cultures  grew  up  around  lakes  or  water  holes  which  in 
consequence  came  to  be  sacrificial  shrines.  The  most  fa- 
mous of  these  are  Guatovita  and  Titicaca  in  South  America. 
Among  other  ceremonial  features  of  comparative  interest 
are  the  conception  of  a “maize  mother,”  the  snake  cults,  the 
foot  races,  and  the  new-fire  ceremonies.  Of  great  festivals 
we  have  in  Peru  the  June  sun  ceremony  and  in  August  that 
for  driving  out  disease. 

For  the  other  parts  of  South  America,  we  have  but  meager 
information.  One  striking  feature  in  the  Amazon  region 
is  the  taboo  against  women,  who  are  not  permitted  to  take 
part  or  even  to  see  the  objects  used  in  important  ceremonies. 
Thus,  it  is  stated  that  all  women  of  the  Uaupes  tribe  who 
happen  to  see  the  leading  mask  in  their  tribal  ceremony 
must  be  executed,  as  required  by  the  ritual.  This  masked 
ritualistic  procedure  is  found  throughout  the  whole  of 
Brazil  and  has  some  curious  analogies  to  a Pacific  Island 
ceremony.  This  is  also  the  land  of  the  couvade,  that  curi- 
ous procedure  in  which  the  father  is  put  to  bed  at  the 
birth  of  a child,  which  has  received  undue  attention  in 
sociological  literature.2  The  other  most  universal  ritualistic 
idea  is  that  of  the  ceremonial  whipping,  usually  a part  of  the 
puberty  ceremony  for  both  girls  and  boys,  but  also  found 


194 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


in  certain  public  dances  of  adults.  Agricultural  rituals  are 
also  in  evidence,  the  two  most  distinctive  being  the  manioc 
and  the  pineapple  harvests. 

Turning  now  to  North  America,  we  find  a new-fire  cere- 
mony among  the  Mexicans,  but  here  it  occurs  every  fifty- 
two  years,  on  the  day  marking  the  completion  of  the  calen- 
dar cycle.  Again,  every  eight  years  the  Atamalqualiztli 
ceremony  was  performed,  a kind  of  fasting  observance,  but 
also  the  occasion  when  a peculiar  cult,  called  Mazateca, 
danced  about  with  live  frogs  and  snakes  in  their  mouths, 
somewhat  like  the  Hopi  of  Arizona.  In  addition,  each 
month  and  day  of  the  year  had  its  more  or  less  elaborate 
ceremonies,  but  to  outline  the  whole  gamut  of  Mexican  and 
Maya  gods  would  take  us  too  far  afield.  Joyce  3 believes 
that  the  bewildering  multiplicity  of  Mexican  gods  is  in 
part  due  to  the  Aztec  having  assimilated  the  respective 
religious  systems  of  conquered  cities;  yet  the  Maya  seem 
almost  equally  complex  in  their  supernatural  hierarchy. 
In  both  the  Aztec  and  Maya  systems  there  was  a powerful 
god  with  a beard,  resembling  Viracocha  of  Peru,  who  was 
also  the  creator,  but  of  very  high  rank;  he  was  the  sun 
and  the  god  of  thunder  and  rain.  Particularly  prominent 
were  the  star  gods,  of  whom  Venus  seems  to  have  been  the 
most  adored. 

Just  north  of  the  Aztec  are  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  south- 
western United  States  who  have  preserved  the  greater  part 
of  their  prehistoric  religious  culture  even  down  to  this  day 
and  time.  Hence,  among  these  eminently  conservative  vil- 
lages we  may  look  for  hints  as  to  what  formerly  underlay 
the  systematized  religious  cultures  further  south.  Thus, 
the  Hopi,  who  seem  to  be  typical,  have  a large  number  of 
definite  priestly  organizations,  each  of  which  administers 
special  and  distinct  rituals.  To  one  is  assigned  astronomical 
observations  and  the  keeping  of  the  calendar,  another  is 
charged  with  snake  worship,  etc.  The  appearance  of  the 


RITUALISM 


195 


clouds,  the  rain,  maize  planting,  in  short,  the  whole  round 
of  daily  life  is  accompanied  by  ritualistic  procedures,  each 
group  of  priests  performing  its  part  at  the  appointed  time. 
While  essentially  magical,  these  rituals  contain  a large 
amount  of  practical  knowledge  as  to  the  care  of  seed,  time 
and  place  of  planting,  etc.  The  supernatural  hierarchy  is 
composed  of  numerous  gods  among  which  are  the  sun,  the 
goddess  of  all  hardness,  the  spider  goddess,  the  horned 
serpent,  the  thunder,  and  the  four  world  quarters.  For- 
merly, some  forms  of  human  sacrifice  seem  to  have  been 
practised  among  the  Rio  Grande  Pueblos  and  even  in  very 
recent  times  certain  newly-born  were  fed  to  sacred  snakes. 
The  ceremonial  footrace  is  also  found,  and  even  the  kindling 
of  new  fire. 

If  now  we  turn  to  the  maize-raising  tribes  of  central  and 
eastern  United  States,  we  note  certain  similarities  in  the 
ritualistic  procedures.  Thus,  the  Pawnee  had  a human  sac- 
rifice and  a whole  yearly  cycle  of  ceremonies  centering 
around  the  cultivation  of  maize.  On  the  lower  Mississippi 
were  temples  to  the  sun  to  whom  the  rulers  bore  a relation 
not  unlike  that  of  the  Inca.4  Even  the  South  American 
practice  of  bearing  the  ruler  in  a litter  was  also  found 
here.  The  widespread  use  of  the  “black  drink,”  a purify- 
ing emetic,  also  reminds  one  of  Pueblo  practices.  Finally, 
certain  special  maize  ceremonies  are  found  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  maize  culture,  though  the  farther  we  get 
from  Mexico  and  Peru,  the  weaker  these  become. 

Among  the  Central  Algonkin  tribes  of  the  Great  Lakes 
we  have  another  ritualistic  form  in  the  sense  that  it  does 
not  pertain  to  agriculture  or  to  a yearly  cycle.  Its  most 
complete  expression  seems  to  be  the  Mide  ritual  which  con- 
cerns itself  with  the  spiritual  relations  between  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  powers  above.5  The  spectacular  public  per- 
formance of  pretending  to  pass,  or  “shoot”  a shell  into  the 
initiate  is  the  best  known  objective  feature  of  this  ceremony. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


196 

Important  parts  of  the  ritual  are  recorded  on  bark  tablets 
so  that  we  see  here  also  the  beginnings  of  written  records. 

In  the  Plains  area,  beyond  the  encroachments  of  maize 
culture,  we  have  the  sun  dance  festival  which  seems  to  have 
been  the  occasion  for  the  fulfilling  of  conventional  vows 
made  during  the  preceding  year,  but  we  also  have  a con- 
siderable development  of  the  ceremonial  pipe  ritual,  shared 
with  certain  contiguous  tribes  to  the  east.  In  California, 
ritualistic  performance  is  very  inconspicuous,  which  in  con- 
trast to  what  is  observed  elsewhere  presents  this  culture  as 
one  of  very  little  interest  here. 

The  only  other  part  of  North  America  where  ritualism  is 
prominent  is  among  the  Pacific  Coast  tribes  of  Canada  and 
southern  Alaska.  Here,  perhaps  more  than  elsewhere,  the 
social  group,  clan  or  gens,  is  the  keeper  of  special  rituals  and 
is  wholly  responsible  for  the  ceremonies  based  upon  the 
same.  One  idea,  or  pattern,  seems  to  dominate  these  rituals, 
viz.,  the  paying  of  proper  homage  to  one’s  supernatural  clan 
ancestors.  In  fact,  the  ritualistic  ceremonies  of  the  whole 
salmon  area  are  little  more  than  staged  demonstrations  of 
the  clan,  or  family,  origin  myth.  The  principal  features  of 
these  “ritualistic  plays”  are  the  impersonations  of  the  ani- 
mal-like monsters  who  are  the  true  heroes  of  the  myths. 
For  this  very  elaborate  masks  are  prepared,  some  of  which 
have  movable  eyes,  ears,  or  jaws,  as  the  case  may  require.6 
Collections  of  these  masks  are  to  be  found  in  our  large 
museums,  where  they  stand  as  objective  data  as  to  what 
the  native  conceives  his  gods  to  be  like.  Masks  are  used 
elsewhere,  even  among  the  Aztec  and  Inca,  but  among  the 
wilder  tribes  are  not  highly  developed  as  here  on  the  coast 
of  the  salmon  area. 

The  whole  subject  of  ritualism  in  the  New  World  is  too 
complicated  to  give  an  adequate  view  of  it  in  a single 
chapter.  Yet,  from  even  this  superficial  sketch  it  appears 
that  the  phenomenon  is  strongest  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  or 


TOTEMISM 


197 

the  regions  of  highest  culture,  and  that  as  we  go  outward 
in  both  continents  from  these  centers,  ritualism  becomes  less 
and  less  conspicuous.  If  we  consider  the  United  States 
and  Canada  only,  it  appears  strongest  in  the  centers  of  clan 
organization.  Another  general  characteristic  of  New  World 
ritualism  is  that  wherever  it  appears,  these  rituals  are  the 
formalized  narratives  of  an  assumed  supernatural,  or  spirit 
revelation,  from  the  gods.  The  tracing  out  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  these  rituals  over  the  several  areas  of  the  New  World 
is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most  important  problems 
of  our  subject  and  promises  to  reveal  in  the  most  satisfac- 
tory way  the  earlier  historical  contacts  of  the  various  exist- 
ing tribes. 

SUPERNATURAL  GUARDIANS  AND  TOTEMISM 

Under  the  head  of  Social  Grouping  we  enumerated  the 
most  striking  totemic  features  associated  with  clans  and 
gentes,  but  the  totemic  complex  is  also  intimately  bound  up 
with  the  very  fundamental  trait  of  individual  guardians. 
This  trait  is  particularly  strong  among  the  bison  hunters 
but  far  from  infrequent  elsewhere.  It  is  usually  one  of  the 
equipments  of  a warrior  which  youths  acquire  by  fasting 
and  spiritual  endeavors.  The  procedure  usually  takes  this 
form:  if  a youth  does  not  have  a dream  or  vision  which 
his  superiors  regard  as  supernatural,  he  is  instructed  and 
prepared  for  the  inducing  of  such  an  experience  and  left 
in  a lonely  place  to  fast  and  pray,  day  and  night.  If  a 
spirit  appears,  it  is  usually  in  animal  form  and  that  animal 
becomes  in  a sense  the  individual  guardian  of  the  suppli- 
cant. This  guardian  is,  however,  conceived  of  as  a spirit 
and  not  merely  as  a bear,  eagle,  wolf,  etc.,  which  are  after 
all,  but  the  objective  links  between  the  individual  and  the 
source  of  spiritual  power.  A very  considerable  number  of 
objects  in  our  museum  collections  are  the  material  bonds 
between  warriors  and  these  personal  guardians,  usually 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


198 

classed  under  the  technical  name  of  medicine  objects,  or 
charms.  Particularly  among  the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  these  often  form  small  bundles  with  short  rituals 
and  in  some  cases  we  find  these  accompanied  by  series  of 
larger  and  more  complex  bundles  often  rising  to  the  level 
of  tribal  ceremonies.  The  Pawnee,  for  example,  have  a 
hierarchy  of  these  bundles  extending  from  the  tribe  down 
to  family  groups.  The  center  for  this  special  bundle  de- 
velopment seems  to  be  about  the  Great  Lakes  in  the  Central 
Algonkin  sphere  of  influence,  but  it  has  its  analogies  in 
the  tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  and  the  Pueblos  of  the 
Rio  Grande.  Further,  we  note  that  certain  Aztec  legends 
mention  two  bundles  miraculously  handed  down  to  the 
people  in  the  days  of  their  tribal  migrations.  Each  of  the 
two  main  divisions  of  the  Aztec  took  one  of  these  bundles 
for  its  chief  guidance.  As  to  the  contents  of  these  bundles, 
we  are  not  fully  enlightened,  but  one  contained  a crystal 
of  some  kind  and  the  other  a set  of  fire  sticks,  reminding 
us  of  Pawnee  bundles.  We  must  suspect,  therefore,  that 
the  ritualistic  bundle  is  an  old  and  fundamental  develop- 
ment in  North  American  culture,  and  that  it  is  based  upon 
the  much  less  specialized  and  more  widely  distributed  con- 
cept of  the  individual  guardian. 

In  the  extended  discussions  of  totemism  by  Frazer7  and 
others  this  generalized  concept  of  the  relation  between  the 
New  World  native  and  his  animal-like  guardians  is  elevated 
to  the  plane  of  an  explanatory  theory,  often  called  the 
“American  theory  of  totemic  origin.”  However,  the  lead- 
ing American  students  of  the  subject  are  disposed  to  regard 
this  theory  as  accounting  for  facts  peculiar  to  the  New 
World  totemic  systems  rather  than  as  universal  in  appli- 
cation. Even  in  the  New  World,  exceptions  have  been 
cited  to  show  that  similar  totemic  complexes  seem  to  have 
had  very  different  histories  and  so  have  superficial  simi- 
larity. Facts  of  this  tenor  have  led  to  the  interpretation  8 


SHAMANISM 


199 


that  the  phenomenon  of  totemism  is  little  more  than  the 
incidental  association  between  individuals  or  kinship  groups 
and  animal-like  guardians,  exogamous  or  analogous  restric- 
tions to  marriage,  ceremonial  privileges,  etc.  The  concep- 
tion is  that  in  this  manner  were  accidentally  formed  tribal 
complexes  of  varying  content  which  we  class  together  under 
the  name  totemism  because  they  have  some  elements  in 
common.  Like  the  other  culture  traits  we  have  discussed, 
these  complexes  show  a geographical  grouping  and  so  fall 
into  more  or  less  localized  types. 

SHAMANISM 

The  medicineman,  or  as  he  is  sometimes  called,  the 
shaman,  occupies  a large  place  in  our  literature.  Some 
writers  9 give  this  functionary  the  chief  place  in  all  religious 
and  ceremonial  activities,  thus  making  shamanism  synony- 
mous with  religion.  While  it  is  conceivable  that  shamanism 
can  be  so  defined  as  to  include  all  religion,  we  must  not 
overlook  the  fact  that  the  medicineman  of  the  New  World 
is  not  the  priest.  A large  number  of  tribes  have  distinct 
names  for  each  and  their  cultures  give  them  distinct  and 
sometimes  antagonistic  functions.  It  is  the  shaman  rather 
than  the  priest  who  is  called  upon  to  treat  the  sick,  to  fore- 
tell the  future,  etc.  The  priest  is  essentially  the  keeper  and 
demonstrator  of  rituals,  his  right  to  do  so  arising  chiefly 
from  his  mere  knowledge  of  the  subject,  but  the  native  con- 
ception of  the  shaman  is  one  who  works  directly  by  virtue 
of  some  extra-human  power.  Consequently,  it  is  the  shaman 
who  goes  into  trances  and  mystifies  by  jugglery,  not  the 
priest. 

The  importance  of  this  distinction  appears  when  we  con- 
sider its  wide  distribution.  For  the  three  great  centers  of 
higher  culture,  Inca,  Chibcha,  and  Maya-Nahua,  we  have 
far  less  data  than  for  some  of  the  wilder  peoples,  but 
what  are  available  reveal  a distinction  between  the  two. 


200 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


The  priests  of  these  cultures  were  organized,  as  we  have 
noted,  in  a manner  comparable  to  and  complementary  to 
the  political  scheme,  but  the  shaman  class  appears  as  un- 
organized and  in  some  cases  is  described  as  itinerant.  In 
Peru,  they  were  sometimes  given  a room  in  the  outer  pre- 
cincts of  the  temple  where  those  who  so  desired  could  con- 
sult them.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Great  Lakes 
region,  we  have  fewer  organized  cultures,  but  among  the 
Pawnee  and  O jibway,  for  example,  the  distinction  is 
sharply  made,  as  also  appears  to  be  the  case  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  In  the  great  plateau  region,  we  find  among  the 
Shoshoni  a less  formalized,  but  still  perceptible  distinction, 
while  among  the  Navajo  and  Apache  of  the  south,  the  line 
is  again  sharply  drawn.  In  central  California,  the  distinc- 
tion vanishes,  but  appears  in  the  mixed  cultures  of  the  north 
and  south.  Again,  on  the  Northwest  Coast,  the  priest  and 
the  shaman  are  distinguished  one  from  the  other. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  find  the  Eskimo  angakok  to  be 
both  the  shaman  and  the  priest.  In  the  great  Dene  area  of 
Canada,  practically  the  same  condition  holds  as  for  the 
Eskimo  and  an  analogous  one  for  some  of  the  Cree.  Turn- 
ing back  to  South  America,  we  meet  with  the  undifferen- 
tiated priest  in  the  Amazon  country  under  the  names,  page , 
paye,  kenaima,  etc.  For  each  group  there  is  usually  one 
such  who  performs  all  priestly  and  shamanistic  functions. 

Supplementary  to  our  previous  discussion  of  rituals  it 
may  be  noted  that  the  differentiation  of  the  priest  from  the 
shaman  occurs  wherever  ritualism  is  highly  developed. 
While  it  is  true  that  we  cannot  always  draw  a definite  line 
between  priestly  and  shamanistic  activities,  the  rule  is  for 
all  tribes  having  well-formed  rituals  themselves  clearly  to 
differentiate  two  sets  of  individuals,  priests  and  shamans. 
We  cannot  therefore  ignore  this  fact  in  our  consideration 
of  the  subject. 

As  we  have  stated,  the  shaman  is  usually  the  doctor, 


SHAMANISM 


201 


prophet,  and  seer.  In  native  theory,  he  gets  his  powers  not 
by  training,  but  by  direct  transmission  from  some  extra- 
human source.  He  is  credited  with  the  ability  to  perform 
extraordinary  feats  which  we  call  jugglery.  Some  of  these 
tricks  fall  into  type  classes  with  continuous  geographical 
distributions.  Thus,  among  the  O jibway  and  other  Cen- 
tral Algonkin  tribes,  we  find  a form  of  the  rope-tying  trick 
which  extends  northward  among  some  of  the  Dene  to  the 
Eskimo.  Centering  among  the  Siouan  tribes  of  the  bison 
area,  we  find  the  handling  of  fire  and  the  plunging  of  the 
hand  into  boiling  water.  Forms  of  the  sword-swallowing 
trick  were  found  among  the  eastern  tribes  from  the  Lakes 
to  the  Gulf  and  on  into  the  Pueblo  area  of  the  Southwest. 
In  the  Amazon  country,  the  special  feature  is  a kind  of  ven- 
triloquism in  which  animals  and  men  carry  on  conversa- 
tions with  the  shaman  in  almost  the  same  fashion  as  the 
jesako  of  the  Central  Algonkin.10  A plant-growing  trick 
comparable  to  that  of  the  Hindu  fakir  was  found  among 
the  Navajo,  Pawnee,11  and  a few  neighboring  tribes.  Other 
distributions  could  be  cited,  but  we  have  gone  far  enough 
to  reveal  the  geographical  character  of  the  phenomenon. 

When  a shaman  undertakes  to  treat  the  sick,  he  frequently 
pretends  to  suck  out  the  cause  of  disease  through  a tube. 
This  trick  has  been  reported  from  the  whole  of  the  New 
World  except  probably  the  region  of  highest  culture  and 
the  Eskimo.12  The  use  of  a calabash  rattle  is  also  found 
throughout  the  Amazon  area,  the  whole  of  the  Pueblo  and 
bison  areas,  though  in  the  latter  the  bulb  is  often  fashioned 
of  rawhide.  This  distribution  also  extends  up  through  the 
Columbia  River  Basin  into  the  North  Pacific  Coast  where 
rattles  are  made  of  wood,  but  still  of  the  same  essential 
form. 

Though  the  individualism  of  the  shaman  is  apparent, 
there  does  appear  a tendency  for  the  formation  of  cults, 
the  best  examples  of  which  are  the  wabano  and  jesako  cults 


202 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


of  the  Central  Algonkin,  the  heyoka  of  the  Siouan  tribes, 
and  the  animal  lodges  of  the  Caddoan.13  In  nearly  every 
case,  these  take  the  form  of  a group  of  followers  with  a 
single  leader,  each  group  specializing  in  certain  devices  and 
tricks. 

As  we  have  noted,  these  tricks  are  not  strictly  confined  to 
shamanism,  but  occasionally  occur  in  priestly  organizations. 
One  of  the  best  known  examples  is  found  in  the  Hopi  snake 
and  antelope  society,  whose  members  perform  tricks  with 
rattlesnakes;  among  others  are  the  shell-shooting  feat  of 
the  Central  Algonkin  midewin,  and  the  dog-eating  of  the 
Nootka  cannibal  society.  These  tricks  are,  however,  in- 
tegral parts  of  the  respective  rituals  and  form  a large  por- 
tion of  the  public  part  of  the  ceremonies. 

In  literature  the  term  shamanism  specifically  applies  to 
the  religious  culture  of  Siberia.  There  we  find  a compli- 
cated conception  of  seventeen  or  more  worlds  in  one  of 
which  human  beings  reside.  Communication  between  these 
worlds  can  be  made  only  through  shamans  conversing  with 
the  spirits  of  the  dead.  The  typical  shamanistic  feats  in 
Siberia  are  states  of  ecstasy,  trembling,  sweating,  contor- 
tions, ravings,  fits,  etc.  The  shaman  of  the  New  World  also 
manifests  many  of  these  reactions,  particularly  in  those 
regions  where  there  are  no  separate  priests.  The  trances 
and  ravings  of  the  Eskimo  angakok  and  the  Tlingit  doctor 
have  an  intensity  comparable  to  those  of  the  Siberian 
shaman,  apparently  much  more  so  than  have  the  methods 
of  the  page  in  the  Amazon  country.  Yet,  these  abnormal 
psychic  activities  are  to  some  degree  the  stock  in  trade  of 
all  shamans,  only  that  when  ritualism  rises,  they  become 
relatively  less  important. 

Turning  now  to  the  priesthood,  we  find  it  most  character- 
istic of  the  Inca,  Chibcha,  and  Maya-Nahua  centers.  The 
priestcraft  of  the  Maya,  for  example,  illustrates  the  maxi- 
mum development  of  ritualism  where  each  day  and  night 


SHAMANISM 


203 

in  the  yearly  cycle  had  its  required  rituals.  Of  the  inter- 
mediate tribes,  we  may  cite  the  Pueblo  of  the  north  with 
their  far  less  elaborate,  *but  yet  complete,  yearly  round  of 
ceremony  and  on  the  south  the  Araucans  of  Chile  who  make 
sacrificial  offerings  at  every  turn.  The  tribes  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  had  also  a ceremonial  cycle  and  maintained  rude 
temples  as  did  also  the  natives  of  the  West  Indies.  But 
as  we  move  outward  in  both  continents  from  these  centers, 
the  rituals  quickly  shrink  to  a small  residue,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast  they  are  to  a degree 
recurrent.  In  view  of  all  this,  one  cannot  escape  the  con- 
viction that  the  existence  of  the  great  Inca  and  Maya  centers 
of  priestcraft  is  responsible  for  many  specific  features  of 
New  World  ritualism.  In  these  centers,  one  of  the  chief 
functions  of  the  priests  was  the  making  of  sacrifices.  In- 
numerable birds,  rabbits,  fruits,  and  even  leaves  of  plants 
were  offered  up  from  day  to  day  in  one  ceaseless  round. 
The  occasional  human  sacrifice  was  but  an  incident  in  an 
otherwise  steady  flow  of  sacrificial  blood.  This,  like  other 
aspects  of  ritualism,  rapidly  shrinks  as  we  move  outward 
but,  far  up  among  the  Pawnee,  we  find  offerings  of  animal 
and  human  blood  and  likewise  among  the  Araucan  and 
other  Chaco  tribes  of  the  south.  The  Maya  and  Nahua 
priests  offered  their  own  blood  upon  blades  of  grass  and  also 
far  up  in  the  bison  area  devotees  cut  off  bits  of  flesh  or  even 
fingers  to  offer  the  sun  and  again  the  extinct  Charrua  of 
the  Chaco  are  said  to  have  offered  up  fingers  in  much 
the  same*  way. 

What  we  have  then  is  a great  center  of  rank  growth  in 
priestcraft  with  a ponderous  system  of  blood  sacrifice,  the 
influence  of  which  wanes  as  we  move  outward.  The  fact 
that  the  shaman  lagged  behind  and. shared  but  little  in  this 
elaboration  would  seem  further  basis  for  the  assumption 
that  the  chief  formative  factors  in  priestcraft  and  ritualism 
are  not  found  in  shamanism.  The  shaman  gets  his  power 


204 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


by  an  extraordinary  experience.  He  usually  seeks  it  in 
fasting  and  prayer;  whence,  if  his  tortured  nervous  sys- 
tem bring  the  desired  illusion,  he  goes  out  among  his  fel- 
lows with  the  faith  and  confidence  that  convinces.  While 
he  has  a great  deal  to  learn  from  his  fellow  shamans,  such 
learning  is  quite  secondary  and  dispensable.  The  priest, 
on  the  other  hand,  may  also  fast  and  be  fired  with  faith  and 
zeal,  but  this  is  secondary  to  him,  for  he  must  master  with 
infinite  detail  the  arbitrary  forms  of  rituals.  In  last  analy- 
sis, the  priest  must  be  a man  of  intellect;  the  shaman  may 
be  a veritable  idiot. 

THE  PERSONAL  RELATION  IN  RITUALISM 

While  many  anthropologists  object  to  the  view  that  all 
New  World  religion  springs  from  the  conceived  relation 
between  the  shaman  and  the  source  of  his  power,  it  may 
be  conceded  that  an  analogous  relation  does  hold  for  the 
masses.  Thus,  among  many  tribes,  it  is  not  merely  the 
shaman  who  goes  out  to  fast  and  pray,  but  practically  every 
individual,  at  least  once  in  his  life,  such  a procedure  being 
one  of  the  essential  equipments  of  youth  for  the  duties  of 
life,  as  noted  under  our  discussion  of  the  individual  guard- 
ian. This  trait  is  prominent  among  the  more  warlike  tribes 
of  the  bison  area,  the  eastern  maize  area,  and  the  guanaco 
area  of  South  America,  in  all  of  which  one  of  the  primary 
equipments  of  the  would-be  warrior  is  to  secure  a personal 
guardian  spirit,  or  power.  Under  the  tutelage  of  a shaman 
he  fasts,  prays,  or  tortures  himself  as  his  tribal  convention 
may  demand,  until  he  either  has  a visitation  or  gives  up 
in  despair.  The  attending  shaman  usually  assists  in  for- 
malizing a kind  of  personal  rite  which  remains  a more  or 
less  secret  individual  formula.  In  most  cases,  it  is  in  ani- 
mal form  that  the  visitation  comes,  a speaking  and  other- 
wise human  animal,  which  belief  is  no  doubt  intimately 
related  to  the  great  prevalence  of  animal  tales  in  New 


SHAMANISM 


205 

World  mythology.  In  this  meeting,  some  specific  protec- 
tion is  promised  the  penitent  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
A man  may  repeat  these  fasts  and  ultimately  secure  a great 
variety  of  such  guardians  and  eventually  be  recognized  as  a 
shaman,  though  one  usually  becomes  a shaman  by  virtue 
of  some  one  remarkable  experience.  This  personal  rela- 
tion of  an  individual  to  his  mentor  is  the  fundamental  con- 
cept in  New  World  religion  and  ritualistic  procedure.  In 
fact,  where  rituals  have  been  carefully  studied,  we  find 
their  reported  origins  to  have  been  in  the  unusual  experience 
of  a single  individual;  hence,  we  can  safely  say  that  a 
typical  New  World  ceremony  is  the  performing  of  a ritual 
demonstrating  this  initial  experience  and  that  the  concept 
of  the  individual  guardian  underlies  the  whole.  While  the 
ideal  thing  would  be  to  close  this  discussion  with  the  presen- 
tation of  a type  ritual,  the  limitations  of  space  forbid.  The 
reader  may,  however,  be  referred  to  Dorsey’s  “Arapaho  Sun 
Dance,”  14  Hoffman’s  “Midewiwin  or  'Grand  Medicine  So- 
ciety’ of  the  O jibway,”  15  or  the  author’s  "Ceremonial  Bun- 
dles of  the  Blackfoot  Indians.”  16  These  will  give  examples 
typical  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  when  suffi- 
ciently generalized,  will  be  representative  of  the  whole  of 
the  New  World,  tentatively,  however,  since  our  data  from 
the  southern  continent  are  meager. 


1.  Markham,  1910,  I,  p.  100. 

2.  Tylor  (no  date). 

3.  Joyce,  1914.  I. 

4.  Swanton,  1911.  I. 

5.  Hoffman,  1891. 1 ;Radin,  1914. 1. 

6.  Boas,  1897.  II;  1909.  I. 

7.  Frazer,  1910.  I;  Durkheim, 
1912.  I. 

8.  Boas,  1916.  I,  p.  323. 


9.  Radin,  1914.  I. 

10.  Hoffman,  1891.  I. 

11.  Grinnell,  1893.  I. 

12.  Tylor  (no  date). 

13.  Murie,  1914.  I ; Hoffman, 
1891.  I ; Dorsey,  J.  O.,  1894.  I. 

14.  Dor.sey,  G.  A.,  1903.  I;  Spier, 
1921.  I. 

15.  Hoffman,  1891.  I. 

16.  Wissler,  1912.  II. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
MYTHOLOGY 

Under  the  general  name  of  folklore,  we  have  a more  or 
less  distinct  department  of  inquiry,  with  its  own  particular 
societies  and  journals  whose  supporters  consider  the  whole 
unwritten  literature  of  the  earth  as  their  province,  whether 
it  pertains  to  primitive  groups  or  to  the  most  advanced  na- 
tions. However,  in  our  country,  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society  has  given  its  attention  almost  wholly  to  the  myth- 
ology of  the  aborigines.  Every  such  tribe,  so  far  exam- 
ined, has  been  found  to  possess  two  kinds  of  tales,  those 
referring  to  a previous  order  of  events,  and  those  having 
to  do  with  the  present.  The  latter  take  the  form  of  anec- 
dotes, hero  tales,  etc.,  and,  regardless  of  the  many  ficti- 
tious elements  they  contain,  have  the  form  of  narratives 
of  real  events.  The  former  deal  with  a period  in  which 
the  world  was  taking  shape  and  the  present  order  of  things 
evolving.  While  it  may  be  true  that  a tribe  will  regard  one 
of  these  two  classes  of  tales  as  worthy  of  belief  as  the  other, 
they  yet  recognize  them  as  different.  In  this  volume  we 
shall  designate  as  myths  all  tales  that  deal  with  this  myth- 
ical pre-world,  or  that  partake  of  the  mythical  style. 

In  the  first  place,  the  myths  of  the  world  embody  one 
universal  feature:  namely,  that  the  animals  and  heavenly 
bodies  are  endowed  with  human  qualities  and  associate  with 
man  indiscriminately.  One  can  scarcely  find  a well-devel- 
oped tale  in  which  animals,  heavenly  bodies,  or  both,  to- 
gether, do  not  play  the  part  of  human  beings.  Another 
peculiarity  is  that  but  rarely  do  any  of  these  tales  convey 
a moral  or  even  pretend  to  exemplify  worthy  ideals.  In 

206 


MYTHOLOGY 


207 


fact,  we  often  find  the  standard  of  ethics  and  morals  of 
the  tales  much  at  variance  with  the  tribe  of  the  narrator. 
On  the  other  hand,  these  tales  frequently  profess  to  convey 
information  as  to  the  origins  of  specific  features  in  the 
modern  world.  Thus,  the  alternation  of  day  and  night  is, 
in  some  cases,  explained  as  due  to  the  original  theft  of  day- 
light by  a culture  hero,  who,  finding  himself  closely  pursued, 
casts  out  the  daylight  bit  by  bit.  Again,  the  markings  in 
the  bark  of  the  birch  trees  are  explained  on  the  ground  that 
once  a culture  hero  in  anger  gashed  the  tree  with  his  knife. 
Yet,  if  we  take  native  myths  as  they  come,  such  explana- 
tions much  more  often  apply  to  peculiarities  of  the  heavens 
and  the  markings  upon  birds  and  animals  than  to  other 
classes  of  phenomena.  Another  peculiarity  is  that  the  initial 
creation  of  the  world  is  a single  incident,  generally  disposed 
of  in  a single  simple  narrative,  whereas  we  find  many  com- 
plex independent  tales,  each  accounting  for  more  or  less 
trivial  animal  markings.  Waterman 1 has  discussed  this 
diffuse  explanatory  character  of  American  tales  under  the 
designation,  explanatory  element.  The  important  problem 
is  as  to  whether  these  tales  were  originally  composed  as 
theoretical  explanations  of  natural  phenomena  in  each  case, 
or  whether  the  explanatory  applications  were  mere  after- 
thoughts. Waterman’s  investigation,  in  particular,  seems 
to  make  it  clear  that  in  the  New  World  such  explanations 
are  quite  secondary  and  could  not  have  been  in  the  mind 
of  the  first  composer.  This  conclusion  is  reached  by  a 
comparative  study  of  the  myths  for  many  tribes  and  is,  of 
course,  inferential. 

The  place  of  the  heavenly  bodies  in  aboriginal  myth  has 
been  investigated  by  Ehrenreich,2  who  defended  a theory 
which  states  that  most  of  the  plots  in  all  tales  were  but 
variations  of  a single  theme  in  which  the  sun  and  moon 
were  the  leading  characters.  He  took  as  one  of  his  main 
factors  the  submitting  of  a hero  to  various  kinds  of  tests. 


208 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


This  topic  also  has  been  made  the  subject  of  exhaustive  in- 
quiry under  the  title  of  The  Test  Theme.3  Here,  again, 
the  result  is  negative,  and  Ehrenreich’s  theory  has  been  re- 
tired to  the  historical  cabinet. 

While  such  problems  are  of  great  interest,  their  solutions 
are  contingent  upon  facts  of  distribution.  The  data  so  far 
accumulated  enable  us  to  compare  the  mythologies  of  the 
several  tribes  occupying  large  areas.  When  we  do  so,  we 
find  certain  tales  in  common.  For  example,  take  the  story 
of  the  Dancing  Birds : — 

A trickster  induces  a number  of  birds  to  dance  around  him,  keeping 
their  eyes  closed.  The  penalty  for  opening  the  eyes  is  that  they  will 
become  red.  As  the  birds  dance,  the  trickster  wrings  their  necks, 
one  by  one.  One  of  the  dancers  grows  suspicious,  opens  his  eyes,  and 
gives  the  alarm.  The  rest  escape.4 

We  find  this  tale  among  most  Algonkin  and  Siouan  tribes 
and  a few  of  their  neighbors.  Approximating  this  distribu- 
tion is  the  “Woman  who  Went  to  the  Sky,”  the  “Crane 
Bridge,”  “Snaring  the  Sun,”  and  the  “Deserted  Children.” 
Thus,  we  have  what  seems  to  be  a mythological  area  over 
which  a number  of  distinct  tales  have  traveled. 

For  another  type  tale,  we  may  take  the  “Rolling  Rock,” 
which  is  found  among  the  Shoshoni  tribes  of  the  western 
highlands,  and  among  some  of  their  immediate  neighbors. 
Quite  similarly  distributed  are  the  “Burning  Cannibal,” 
“Eye  Juggler,”  “Ladder  of  Arrows,”  “Skin  Shifter,”  and 
“Blind  Dupe.”  These  have  one  further  peculiarity  in  that 
they  show  a tendency  to  occur  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
and  in  eastern  Siberia.  Thus  we  have,  in  contrast  to  the 
preceding,  a western  mythological  area. 

Boas  5 defines  another  area,  comprising  the  Nahua,  some 
of  the  Pueblo  tribes,  the  Caddoan  tribes  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  perhaps  a few  others,  in  which  we  find  myths 
recounting  successive  migrations. 


MYTHOLOGY 


209 


Common  to  the  first  two  areas  and  extending  far  over 
the  Old  World,  is  the  “Magic  Flight,”  “Vaginal  Teeth,” 
and  the  “Unfaithful  Wife.”  The  former  tale  extends  into 
South  America,  making  it  one  of  the  most  widely  recurring 
themes. 

One  striking  trait  of  Mexico,  northwestern  South  Amer- 
ica, eastern  Brazil,  and  southeastern  United  States,  is  that 
we  find  many  Old  World  themes  of  which  the  race  between 
the  turtle  and  rabbit  is  a good  example.  Boas  6 has  formu- 
lated evidence  to  show  that  these  tales  can  be  traced  to  early 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  sources.  The  latter,  and  the  in- 
stitution of  negro  slavery,  he  considers  responsible  for  the 
many  African  themes  encountered. 

There  is  also  the  suggestion  of  a tendency  for  each  of 
the  great  economic  areas  we  have  defined  (p.  2)  to  have  a 
distinct  group  of  myths.  For  example,  in  the  bison  area 
we  have  the  well-known  myths  of  “Blood-clot  Boy,”.  “Stone- 
Boy,”  and  the  “Twins.” 

The  peculiarity  of  the  distribution  we  have  just  sketched 
is  that  we  here  have  a number  of  tale  groups  which  are 
distributed  independently  of  each  other.  If  we  had  found 
each  tale  distributed  independently  of  the  others,  it  would 
have  been  clear  that  the  directions  and  extent  of  diffusion 
were  mere  matters  of  accident;  but,  when  we  find  tales  in 
groups  which  are  independent,  the  case  is  far  from  clear. 
So  far,  the  tales  of  a group  show  no  signs  of  logical  or 
functional  relations,  from  which  we  assume  that  there  are 
historical  reasons  for  this  grouping,  but  as  to  their  iden- 
tity we  are  yet  ignorant.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that 
these  areas  are  as  yet  but  vaguely  defined  and  that  Water- 
man’s list  of  correspondences  leaves  very  marked  gaps 
for  the  successive  myths.  More  extended  data  in  the  future 
may  greatly  modify  these  results. 

When  we  shift  our  point  of  view  to  the  place  of  these 
tales  in  aboriginal  life,  the  most  acceptable  interpretation 


210 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


is  that  they  are  literature;  in  other  words,  artistic  compo- 
sitions valued  and  preserved  for  the  sake  of  their  aesthetic 
qualities.  We  have  noted  that  these  tales  fail  to  qualify  as 
native  theories  of  origin  or  as  explanatory  and  test  themes, 
but  as  literature,  some  myths  rise  to  the  level  of  sacred 
narratives  and  are  so  regarded  by  all  of  the  tribe.  No 
very  serious  attempts  have  been  made  to  subject  large 
groups  of  tales  to  literary  analysis,  but  it  is  suggested  that 
what  is  diffused  from  one  tribe  to  another  is  a compact 
definite  incident,  as  the  “Magic  Flight,”  the  “Eye-Juggler,” 
etc.,  the  whole  of  which  must  be  taken  if  at  all.7  One  may, 
therefore,  infer  that  the  causes  for  the  grouping  of  inci- 
dents we  have  noted  arise  from  the  probability  that  the 
same  historical  factors  favoring  the  diffusion  of  one  tale 
also  operated  simultaneously  with  the  other.  The  only  ante- 
cedent condition,  therefore,  would  be  that  the  group  be 
formed  before  it  was  diffused.  From  such  a point  of  view 
the  phenomenon  is  intelligible. 

That  the  Inca  and  the  Nahua,  at  least,  had  made  impor- 
tant advances  in  literary  form  is  suggested  by  a few  sur- 
viving fragments,  as  noted  under  Fine  Arts  (p.  147).  The 
celebrated  Inca  drama,  “Apu  Ollantay,”  has  strong  claim 
to  being  pre-Columbian  and  certain  poetical  fragments  have 
come  down  to  us  from  the  Maya  and  Nahua.  That  these 
should  have  been  of  a high  order  is  to  be  expected  for,  as 
noted  under  Fine  Arts,  we  find  even  among  the  tribes  of 
the  bison  area,  song  rituals  of  dramatic  and  poetical  merit.8 
In  some  cases,  conspicuously  in  some  Pueblo  and  North 
Pacific  Coast  ceremonies,  well-composed  rituals  are  enacted, 
staging  sacred  mythical  tales  in  which  the  characters  are 
impersonated  by  the  use  of  masks  and  other  accessories. 
The  purely  literary  side  of  these  rituals  and  songs  has  never 
been  seriously  studied. 


RELIGIOUS  CONCEPTIONS 


21 1 


MYTHOLOGY  AND  RELIGIOUS  CONCEPTIONS 

Some  of  the  older  writers 9 have  noted  the  wide  distribu- 
tion of  a kind  of  white-man  god,  and  sought  to  demonstrate 
its  origin  in  the  phenomena  of  the  sun.  This  interpretation 
has  not  survived  criticism,  but  it  serves  to  call  attention  to 
an  interesting  mythical  character.  As  we  have  noted,  in 
the  god  systems  of  the  Inca,  Chibcha,  Maya,  and  Nahua, 
there  appears  a distinctly  human  god  who  lives  among  men 
and  establishes  the  present  order,  but  after  a time  departs. 
The  names  under  which  he  is  known  are,  respectively: 
Viracocha,  Bochica,  Kukulcan,  and  Quetzalcoatl.  In  each 
case,  he  is  regarded  as  clothed  in  white  cloth  or  paint,  as 
having  arrived  from  the  East,  and  as  having  a beard.  When 
Europeans  appeared  upon  the  scene,  the  local  term  for  this 
god  was  applied  to  them,  and  entered  into  the  future  termin- 
ology. We  thus  have  the  associated  characters  of  whiteness, 
bearded,  human-like,  dawn-like,  culture  leader,  and  reformer 
continuously  distributed  from  Chile  to  the  Rio  Grande.  But 
this  complex  extends  even  farther  afield.  In  the  bison  area 
the  Cheyenne  Vihuk,  the  Arapaho  Nili-an-can,  and  the 
Blackfoot  Napiwa  possess  all  of  these  except  the  beard,  yet 
each  in  turn  forms  the  term  applied  to  individuals  of  our 
race.  In  South  America  the  Tsuma  of  Venezuela  seems  to 
have  been  identical  with  the  whole  complex,  and  the  Tupi 
Zume  seems  to  have  been  but  little  different.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  bison  area  group,  we  have  practically  con- 
tinuity of  distribution,  and  so  far  the  whole  complex  has 
not  been  found  outside  of  these  limits.  As  Brinton  has 
stated,  we  can  find  lesser  units  of  this  complex  more  widely 
distributed,  but  his  effort  to  show  that  these  facts  of  dis- 
tribution prove  that  each  group  devised  the  conception  in- 
dependently to  explain  the  phenomena  of  the  sun,  dawn, 
etc.,  is  not  convincing,  for  it  seems  far  more  probable  that 
the  complex  was  evolved  in  one  locality  and  thence  diffused. 


212 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Perhaps  one  of  the  most  striking  traits  of  this  character  is 
that  in  contrast  to  most  other  gods  of  the  New  World, 
he  is  a person,  not  an  animal  or  an  astronomical  monster. 
To  our  mind,  this  one  fact  is  a strong  argument  for  diffu- 
sion as  against  the  independent  origin  theory. 

Another  widely  diffused  concept  is  that  of  the  culture  hero 
trickster.10  The  most  notorious  of  these  are  the  Raven  of 
the  North  Pacific  Coast,  the  Coyote  of  the  great  western 
highlands,  and  the  Rabbit  of  the  eastern  forest  region.  The 
peculiarity  of  this  character  is  that  while  he  gives  us  the 
order  of  the  world,  he  stoops  to  the  most  vile  pranks  that 
can  be  conceived  and  frequently  passes  as  the  most  guileless 
of  dupes.  Several  investigators  11  have  tried  to  harmonize 
these,  to  us,  incompatible  traits,  but  it  remains  simply  a 
fact  of  observation  and  may  be  set  down  as  one  of  the 
general  characteristics  of  New  World  mythology. 

Of  lesser  imaginary  beings,  the  most  unique  are  the 
thunderbird  and  the  plumed  or  horned  serpent.  The  for- 
mer is  widely  distributed  in  the  United  States  and  Canada ; 
the  latter  is  found  from  Chile  to  Lake  Superior. 

The  conception  of  a deluge  destroying  the  world  and  its 
immediate  restoration  in  the  present  order,  is  almost  uni- 
versal. It  is  found  in  the  highlands  of  Peru  and  Mexico 
as  well  as  in  the  lowlands  of  both  continents. 

We  have  already  commented  upon  the  animal-like  beings 
that  visit  a supplicant  in  his  lonely  fast,  which  is  an  aspect 
of  the  fundamental  belief  in  the  animation  of  nature. 
Animism,12  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  was  universal 
and  fundamental  in  the  beliefs  of  the  New  World.  The 
procedures  of  the  shaman  we  have  discussed  are  an  expres- 
sion of  this  faith.  Of  specific  beliefs  of  this  class,  the 
most  widespread  seem  to  be  those  of  the  bear  and  the 
jaguar.  From  California  to  the  Atlantic,  we  find  the  idea 
that  shamans  who  derive  their  power  from  the  bear  can 
heal  wounds  and  often  restore  life.  Throughout  the  Ama- 


RELIGIOUS  CONCEPTIONS 


213 


zon  and  even  into  the  highlands  of  Peru  and  Mexico  has 
spread  the  idea  that  the  jaguar  is  the  patron  saint  of  all 
shamans,  whose  form  many  of  them  take  on  at  will. 

Three  well-localized  methods  of  purifying  oneself  for 
sacred  offices  have  been  noted.  In  the  whole  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  except  among  the  Eskimo  and  some 
of  their  near  neighbors,  the  sweat  house  is  used.  From 
some  notes  by  Bandelier,13  the  custom  seems  to  have  been 
followed  by  the  Mexicans  also,  but  they  in  common  with 
the  Maya,  Chibcha,  and  Inca  resorted  to  bleeding,  or  the 
offering  of  drops  of  blood,  for  the  same  purpose.  In  the 
Amazon  Basin  and  the  West  Indies,  violent  emetics  were 
taken  for  purging  the  body.  The  latter  lapped  over  into  the 
sweat  house  area  along  the  Gulf,  and  even  in  the  Pueblo 
area,  while  the  bleeding  method  is  found  in  the  bison  area. 

The  burning  of  incense,  including  the  highly  original 
use  of  tobacco,  was  almost  universal. 

The  conception  of  renewing  the  fire  was  found  in  most 
agricultural  tribes,  often  associated  with  planting  and  gen- 
eral seasonal  rejuvenation.  In  modern  times,  the  fire  is 
still  kindled  with  the  firedrill  or  other  primitive  appliances. 
In  the  north,  the  ceremony  appears  even  among  the  Pawnee, 
where,  as  elsewhere,  the  fire  is  kindled  by  a particular 
shaman  or  priest. 

In  the  various  discussions  of  ritualism,  we  have  noted 
the  tendency  of  the  group  to  follow  the  whole  year  through 
with  one  ceaseless  complex  of  ceremonies.  This  is  far  more 
conspicuous  among  the  maize-growing  tribes.  Also  closely 
associated  with  this  cycle  is  the  worship  of  the  sun,  moon, 
winds,  rain,  morningstar,  and  other  heavenly  phenomena. 

The  concept  of  the  vow  was  widely  diffused  in  the  same 
area.  In  the  Andean  region,  one  when  ill  may  promise  the 
ceremony  of  giving  gold  ornaments  to  a sacred  lake ; in  the 
bison  area,  to  have  a sun  dance  or  other  rituals  performed, 
while  between  these  two  outposts  it  appears  in  analogous 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


214 

forms.  The  distinction  we  have  noted  between  the  shaman 
and  the  priest  has  its  bearing  here,  for  it  is  the  latter  upon 
whom  the  patient  calls  when  a vow  is  made,  and  upon 
him  devolves  the  duty  of  performing  the  prescribed  rites. 

Somewhat  analogous  to  this  is  the  confession  of  sins. 
In  Mexico,  this  seems  to  have  been  a prominent  feature, 
particularly  sexual  sins.  What  may  be  a reverberation  of 
this  extends  far  up  into  the  United  States,  where  many 
tribes  exact  periodic  public  confessions  of  sexual  irregulari- 
ties at  which  all  adults  must  declare  themselves  in  turn.  In 
a wider  sense,  the  concept  is  found  among  the  Eskimo  who 
have  developed  many  curious  taboos  respecting  every  phase 
of  life,  the  violation  of  which  brings  illness,  etc.,  unless 
promptly  confessed.  In  Peru,  special  confessions  were 
required. 

While  there  are  many  other  concepts  of  greater  or  more 
restricted  distribution,  we  may  close  this  enumeration  with 
reference  to  one  special  group  of  ideas.  A kind  of  abstract 
notion  of  a sacred  quality  is  entertained  which  develops 
specific  terms.  The  best  known  of  these  is  the  wakan  14  of 
the  Siouan  stock,  which  has  its  parallels  in  a number  of 
other  languages.  In  old  Peru,  the  term  was  huaca.  The 
conception  seems  to  be  the  attribute  of  possessing  or  di- 
rectly associating  with  extra-human  power.  In  function  the 
terms  resemble  our  sacred , holy , etc.,  except  that  they  are 
applied  to  anything  mysterious. 

Another  abstract  idea  is  that  of  the  four  world  quarters, 
or  four  directions.  This  is  sometimes  expressed  by  crosses 
and  swastika-like  symbols.  The  number  four,  whether  for 
this  reason  or  otherwise,  is  to  a large  extent  the  sacred 
number  of  the  New  World.  Even  in  Inca  and  Nahua  or- 
ganizations, we  find  it  often  taken  as  the  numerical  unit. 
In  many  parts  of  both  continents,  smoke  is  offered  to  the 
four  directions,  and  most  ceremonial  acts  are  repeated  in 
sets  of  fours.15 


NEW  WORLD  CULTURE  215 

There  appears  a tendency  for  certain  tribes  to  divide  into 
two  parts,  usually  designated  as  summer  and  winter  groups, 
whose  chiefs  lead  alternately  according  to  the  season.  This 
is  quite  conspicuous  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  whence  it 
extends  into  Mexico,  and  has  its  counterparts  in  Peru.  The 
mere  social  cleavage  into  two  parts,  or  moieties,  we  have 
considered  elsewhere  (p.  166),  but,  like  certain  other  social 
traits,  this,  also,  has  its  ceremonial  associations  which  greatly 
expand  the  complex.  These  mythical  and  religious  concepts 
offer  a fine  field  for  further  study.  We  have  here  but  men- 
tioned a few  of  the  best  known,  but  for  no  one  of  them 
can  so  much  as  a complete  distribution  be  stated.  The  whole 
subject  of  mythical  thought,  philosophical,  and  religious 
conceptions  as  a New  World  contribution  to  man’s  history 
is  still  before  us. 

UNITY  OF  NEW  WORLD  CULTURE 

Our  initial  task,  a general  review  of  the  most  important 
traits  of  culture  for  the  various  native  social  units  of  the 
New  World  is  now  finished.  The  one  striking  suggestion  is 
that  notwithstanding  the  great  diversity  we  have  found, 
there  are,  on  every  hand,  the  unmistakable  signs  of  unity. 
The  higher  cultures  of  Mexico  and  Peru  are,  after  all, 
merely  the  great  centers  where  the  fundamental  elements 
in  New  World  culture  were  full  blown.  Thus,  we  found 
that  agriculture,  metal  work,  ceramics,  architecture,  and 
sculpture,  all  centered  there.  In  addition,  there  were  a 
number  of  specific  instances  of  miscellaneous  traits  that 
radiated  from  these  centers.  Confronted  as  we  are  by  the 
undeniable  evidences  for  the  local  diffusion  of  culture  traits 
in  all  parts  of  both  continents,  it  would  be  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  the  existence  of  these  virile  centers  in  entire  iso- 
lation. 

But  passing  on  to  less  material  trai-ts,  we  find  even 
stronger  claims  to  unity  of  culture.  Thus,  society  itself  was 


2l6 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


almost  everywhere  composed  of  the  same  kind  of  units, 
whose  conceptions  of  property  and  political  rights  were  the 
same.  Ritualism,  priestcraft,  and  shamanism,  mythological 
conceptions,  and  religious  attitudes  also  show  many  specific 
cases  of  uniformity.  Hence,  we  are  fully  justified  in  re- 
garding the  New  World  as  one  distinct  culture  province. 
These  considerations,  however,  lead  us  into  problems  best 
deferred  to  the  end  of  this  work. 


1.  Waterman,  1914.  I. 

2.  Ehrenreich,  1905.  I. 

3.  Lowie,  1908.  I. 

4.  Waterman,  1914.  I,  p.  44. 

5.  Boas,  1914.  I. 

6.  Boas,  1914.  I. 

7.  Boas  in  Teit,  1898.  I;  Radin, 
1915.  I;  Alexander,  1916.  I. 


8.  Fletcher,  1904.  I. 

9.  Brinton,  1882.  I. 

10.  Boas,  1914.  I. 

11.  Boas,  1914.  I. 

12.  Tylor,  1889.  I. 

13.  Bandelier,  1884.  I. 

14.  Jones,  W.,  1905.  I. 

15.  Alexander,  1920.  I. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  SOCIAL  GROUPS 
ACCORDING  TO  THEIR  CULTURES 

We  have  now  passed  in  review  the  traits  that  are  usually 
taken  as  constituting  culture.  The  anthropological  concep- 
tion of  the  term  is  that  it  is  the  trait-complex  manifested  by 
a separate  social  unit  of  mankind.  Some  anthropologists 
take  the  position  that  the  only  correct  view  of  the  data  of 
our  subject  is  that  which  regards  the  social  unit  solely  and 
that  all  such  discussions  as  we  have  so  far  made  are  wrong 
in  principle,  because  each  trait  has  a peculiar  relation  to  the 
complex  practised  by  the  group.  This  belief  seems  to  arise 
in  a kind  of  functional  view  in  which  the  only  problem  of 
importance  is  to  describe  the  manner  in  which  a given  social 
unit  works  out  its  culture.  But  it  is  now  clear  that  no  social 
group  in  the  New  World  can  be  reckoned  guilty  of  entire 
cultural  independence,  and  that  certain  traits  have  spread 
over  very  large  parts  of  both  continents,  whence  the  prob- 
lem of  a single  social  unit  becomes  of  relatively  little  im- 
portance, because  until  we  take  in  the  whole  sweep  of  the 
phenomenon  no  true  account  of  it  can  be  given. 

As  we  have  stated  before  this,  the  number  of  social 
groups  in  the  New  World  is  so  large  that  no  one  can  hope  to 
hold  in  mind  more  than  a small  portion  of  them.  Hence, 
even  if  we  accept  the  extreme  view  that  our  subject  should 
be  limited  to  observing  the  separate  functioning  of  these 
social  units,  some  mode  of  classifying  these  many  groups 
would  still  be  imperative;  for  only  in  this  way  could  the 
number  of  groups  be  reduced  to  the  level  of  human  com- 
prehension. In  the  preceding  chapters  we  saw  that  the  na- 

217 


2 18 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


tives  of  the  New  World  could  be  grouped  according  to  single 
culture  traits,  giving  us  food  areas,  textile  areas,  ceramic 
areas,  etc.  If,  however,  we  take  all  traits  into  simultaneous 
consideration  and  shift  our  point  of  view  to  the  social,  or 
tribal  units,  we  are  able  to  form  fairly  definite  groups. 
This  will  give  us  culture  areas,  or  a classification  of  social 
groups  according  to  their  culture  traits.  The  historical  de- 
velopment of  our  subject  gives  us  two  kinds  of  culture  data 
and  so  commits  us  to  two  rather  distinct  classifications — 
historic  culture  areas  and  archaeological  areas,  respectively. 

THE  HISTORIC  TRIBES 

In  the  initial  chapter,  we  defined  nine  economic  areas, 
giving  us  a kind  of  culture  classification  which  the  subse- 
quent discussions  proved  to  have  some  general  validity  for 
culture  as  a whole.  Yet,  we  have  from  time  to  time  brought 
to  notice  differentiations  in  the  trait-complexes  for  different 
parts  of  these  economic  areas,  suggesting  that  a close  exam- 
ination of  a large  series  of  traits  will  result  in  a somewhat 
different  grouping.  A perusal  of  the  literature  of  our  sub- 
ject shows  it  to  be  customary  to  divide  the  two  continents 
into  fifteen  culture  areas,  each  conceived  to  be  the  home  of 
a distinct  type  of  culture.  These  areas  are,  in  a sense,  gen- 
eralizations, but  the  method  we  have  followed  here  is  highly 
empirical,  since  for  each  social  group  we  have  checked  out 
the  several  culture  traits  and  compared  them  in  detail. 

NORTH  AMERICAN  CULTURE  AREAS 

i.  The  Plains  Area.  For  example,  in  the  great  western 
plains  of  the  United  States,  we  have  thirty-one  tribal  groups, 
of  which  eleven  may  be  considered  as  manifesting  the  typ- 
ical culture  of  the  area:  viz.,  the  Assiniboin,  Arapaho, 
Blackfoot,  Cheyenne,  Comanche,  Crow,  Gros  Ventre, 
Kiowa,  Kiowa- Apache,  Sarsi,  and  Teton-Dakota.  The 
chief  traits  of  this  culture  are  the  dependence  upon  the  buf- 


PLAINS  AREA 


219 


Fig.  58.  Culture  Areas 


220 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


falo  or  bison,  and  the  very  limited  use  of  roots  and  berries ; 
absence  of  fishing;  lack  of  agriculture;  the  tipi  as  a movable 
dwelling;  transportation  by  land  only,  with  the  dog  and  the 
travois  (in  historic  times  with  the  horse)  ; want  of  bas- 
ketry and  pottery;  no  true  weaving;  clothing  of  buffalo  and 
deerskins;  a special  bead  technique;  high  development  of 
work  in  skins;  special  rawhide  work  (parfleche,  cylindrical 
bag,  etc.);  use  of  a circular  shield;  weak  development  of 
work  in  wood,  stone,  and  bone.  Their  art  is  strongly  geo- 
metric,  but  as  a whole,  not  symbolic;  social  organization 
tends  to  the  simple  band;  a camp  circle  organization;  a 
series  of  societies  for  men;  sun  dance  ceremony;  sweat 
house  observances,  scalp  dances,  etc. 

In  historic  times,  these  tribes  ranged  from  north  to  south 
in  the  heart  of  the  area.  (Fig.  59.)  On  the  eastern  border 
were  some  fourteen  tribes  having  most  of  the  positive  traits 
enumerated  above  and,  in  addition,  some  of  the  negative 
ones,  such  as  a limited  use  of  pottery  and  basketry;  some 
spinning  and  weaving  of  bags;  rather  extensive  agriculture; 
alternating  the  tipi  with  larger  and  more  permanent  houses 
covered  with  grass,  bark,  or  earth;  some  attempts  at  water 
transportation ; tending  not  to  observe  the  sun  dance,  but  to 
substitute  maize  festivals,  shamanistic  performances,  and 
the  midewin  of  the  Great  Lakes  tribes.  These  tribes  are: 
the  Arikara,  Hidatsa,  Iowa,  Kansa,  Mandan,  Missouri, 
Omaha,  Osage,  Oto,  Pawnee,  Ponca,  Santee-Dakota,  Yank- 
ton-Dakota,  and  the  Wichita. 

On  the  western  border  were  other  tribes  (the  Wind  River 
Shoshoni,  Uintah  and  Uncompahgre  Ute)  lacking  pottery, 
but  producing  a rather  high  type  of  basketry;  depending  far 
less  on  the  buffalo  but  more  on  deer  and  small  game ; mak- 
ing large  use  of  wild  grass  seeds,  or  grain;  alternating  tipis 
with  brush  and  mat-covered  shelters ; and  not  as  a whole  in- 
clined to  the  sun  dance  and  the  other  ceremonial  practices 
of  their  eastern  neighbors. 


PLAINS  AREA 


221 


222 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Also,  on  the  northeastern  border  are  the  Plains-0 jibway 
and  Plains-Cree  who  have  many  traits  of  the  forest-hunt- 
ing tribes  as  well  as  most  of  those  found  in  the  Plains. 
Possibly  a few  of  the  little-known  bands  of  Canadian  As- 
siniboin  should  be  included  in  this  group  in  distinction  from 
the  Assiniboin  proper. 

These  variations  from  the  type  are,  as  we  shall  see,  typ- 
ical traits  of  the  adjoining  areas,  the  possible  exception  be- 
ing the  earth-lodges  of  the  Mandan,  Pawnee,  etc.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  tribes  of  the  area  as  a whole  have  in  com- 
mon practically  all  the  traits  of  the  typical  group.  For  ex- 
ample, the  Mandan  made  some  use  of  tipis,  hunted  buffalo, 
used  the  travois,  worked  in  skins  and  rawhide,  and  armed 
and  clothed  themselves  like  the  typical  Plains  tribes;  but 
also  added  other  traits,  pottery,  basketry,  agriculture,  and 
earth-lodges.  Thus  we  see  that  while  in  this  area  there  are 
marked  culture  differences,  the  traits  constituting  these  dif- 
ferences tend  to  be  typical  of  other  areas;  hence,  we  are 
quite  justified  in  taking  the  cultures  of  the  central  group  as 
the  type  for  the  area  as  a whole. 

2.  Plateau  Area.  The  Plateau  area  joins  the  Plains  on 
the  west.  It  is  far  less  uniform  in  its  topography,  the  south 
being  a veritable  desert  while  the  north  is  moist  and  fertile. 
To  add  to  the  difficulties  in  systematically  characterizing 
this  culture,  arising  from  lack  of  geographical  unity,  is  the 
want  of  definite  information  for  many  important  tribes. 
Our  readily  available  sources  are  Teit’s  Thompson,  Shu- 
swap,  and  Lillooet;1  Spinden’s  Nez  Perce;2  and  Lowie’s 
Northern  Shoshone; 3 but  there  is  also  an  excellent  summary 
of  the  miscellaneous  historical  information  by  Lewis,4  In  a 
general  way,  these  intense  tribal  studies  give  us  the  cultural 
nuclei  of  as  many  groups,  the  Interior  Salish,  the  Shahap- 
tian,  and  the  Shoshoni.  Of  these,  the  Salish  seem  the  typ- 
ical group,  because  both  the  Nez  Perce  and  the  Shoshoni 
show  marked  Plains  traits.  It  is  also  the  largest,  having 


PLATEAU  AREA  223 

sixteen  or  more  dialectic  divisions  and  considerable  terri- 
torial extent.  Of  these  the  Thompson,  Shuswap,  Okanagan 
(Colville,  Nespelim,  Sanpoil,  Senijixtia),  and  Lillooet  seem 
to  be  the  most  typical.  The  material  traits  may  be  sum- 
marized as:  extensive  use  of  salmon,  deer,  roots  (espe- 
cially camas),  and  berries;  the  use  of  a handled  digging- 
stick;  cooking  with  hot  stones  in  holes  and  baskets;  the 
pulverization  of  dried  salmon  and  roots  for  storage;  winter 
houses,  semi-subterranean,  a circular  pit  with  a conical  roof 
and  smoke  hole  entrance;  summer  houses;  movable  or 
transient,  mat  or  rush-covered  tents  and  the  lean-to,  double 
and  single;  the  dog  sometimes  used  as  a pack  animal; 
water  transportation  weakly  developed,  crude  dug-outs  and 
bark  canoes  being  used ; pottery  not  known ; basketry 
highly  developed,  coil,  rectangular  shapes,  imbricated  tech- 
nique ; twine  weaving  in  flexible  bags  and  mats ; some  sim- 
ple weaving  of  bark  fiber  for  clothing;  clothing  for  the 
entire  body  usually  of  deerskins;  skin  caps  for  the  men, 
and  in  some  cases  basket  caps  for  women;  blankets  of 
woven  rabbitskin;  the  sinew-backed  bow  prevailed;  clubs, 
lances,  and  knives,  and  rod  and  slat  armor  (Fig.  52)  were 
used  in  war,  also  heavy  leather  shirts;  fish  spears,  hooks, 
traps,  and  bag  nets  were  used;  dressing  of  deerskins  highly 
developed,  but  other  skinwork  weak,  upright  stretching 
frames  and  straight  long-handled  scrapers;  while  wood 
work  was  more  advanced  than  among  the  Plains  tribes  it 
was  insignificant  as  compared  to  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
area  (4) ; stone  work  was  confined  to  the  making  of  tools 
and  points,  battering  and  flaking,  some  jadeite  tools;  work 
in  bone,  metal,  and  feathers  very  weak. 

Of  the  non-material  traits  the  most  distinctive  are : decor- 
ative art  simple  and  inconspicuous,  rather  inclining  towards 
the  Plains  type  on  the  one  hand  and  that  of  the  North  Pa- 
cific Coast  tribes  on  the  other;  lack  of  definite  tribal  organ- 
ization and  band  distinctions ; a weak  but  still  definite  social 


224 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


distinction  based  upon  personal  wealth,  with  at  least  a 
modern  use  of  the  “potlatch”  ceremony;  hence,  there  are  no 
striking  general  ceremonies  or  ritualistic  societies  as  in  the 
preceding  area;  puberty  ceremonies  rather  prominent  and 
related  to  the  general  belief  in  personal  guardians;  my- 
thology largely  a record  of  the  “trickster  type.” 

The  Shahaptian  group  includes  tribes  of  the  Waiilatpuan 
stock.  The  underground  house  seems  to  be  wanting  here, 
but  the  Nez  Perce  used  a form  of  it  for  a young  men’s  lodge. 
However,  the  permanent  house  seems  to  be  a form  of  the 
double  lean-to  of  the  north.  In  other  respects  the  differences 
are  almost  wholly  due  to  the  intrusion  of  traits  from  the 
Plains. 

The  Northern  Shoshonean  tribes  were  even  farther  re- 
moved toward  Plains  culture,  though  they  used  a dome- 
shaped brush  shelter  before  the  tipi  became  general;  thus, 
they  used  canoes  not  at  all,  carried  the  Plains  shield;  deer 
being  scarce  in  their  country  they  made  more  use  of  the  buf- 
falo than  the  Nez  Perce,  depended  more  upon  small  game 
and  especially  made  extensive  use  of  wild  grass  seeds, 
though  as  everywhere  in  the  area,  roots  and  salmon  formed 
an  important  food;  in  addition  to  the  universal  sagebrush 
bark  weaving  they  made  rabbitskin  blankets ; their  basketry 
was  coil  and  twine,  but  the  shapes  were  round;  they  had 
some  steatite  jars  and  possibly  pottery,  but  usually  cooked 
in  baskets ; their  clothing  was  quite  Plains-like  and  work  in 
rawhide  was  well  developed;  in  historic  times  they  were 
great  horse  Indians,  but  seem  not  to  have  used  the  travois 
either  for  dogs  or  horses.  A number  of  ceremonial  dances 
also  remind  one  of  the  Plains.  The  remaining  Shoshoni  of 
western  Utah  and  Nevada  were  in  a more  arid  region  and 
so  out  of  both  the  salmon  and  the  buffalo  country,  but  other- 
wise their  fundamental  culture  was  much  the  same,  though 
far  less  modified  by  Plains  traits.  The  Wind  River  divi- 
sion, the  Uintah  or  Uncompahgre  Ute,  it  should  be  noted, 


CALIFORNIA  AREA 


225 


belong  more  to  the  Plains  area  than  here,  and  have  been  so 
classed.  In  the  extreme  western  part  of  Nevada  we  have 
the  Washo,  a small  tribe  and  linguistic  stock  who,  in  com- 
mon with  some  of  the  little-known  Shoshonean  Mono- 
Paviotso  groups,  seem  to  have  been  influenced  by  California 
culture,  since  we  find  here  a form  of  balsa , or  the  tule  reed 
raft-like  boat  of  California.  Among  other  variants,  the 
occasional  use  of  insects  as  food  may  be  noted.  On  the 
north  of  our  area  are  the  Athapascan  Chilcotin,  whose  cul- 
ture was  quite  like  that  of  the  Salish,  and  to  the  northeast 
the  Kutenai,  with  some  individualities  and  some  inclinations 
towards  the  Plains,  especially  in  social  and  ceremonial 
traits. 

In  general,  it  appears  that  in  choice  of  foods,  textile  arts, 
quantity  of  clothing,  forms  of  utensils,  fishing  appliances, 
methods  of  cooking  and  preparing  foods,  weakly  developed 
decorative  art,  meager  social  organization,  distinctions  by 
property,  religious  and  mythological  conceptions,  there  was 
great  uniformity  throughout  the  entire  area;  while  in 
houses,  transportation,  weapons,  cut  and  style  of  clothing, 
specific  ceremonies  and  war  customs,  the  groups  designated 
above  presented  some  important  differences.  As  in  the 
Plains  area,  we  find  certain  border  tribes  strongly  influenced 
by  the  cultures  of  the  adjoining  areas. 

3.  California  Area.  In  California  we  have  a marginal  or 
coast  area,  which  Kroeber  5 divides  into  four  sub-cuiture 
areas.  However,  by  far  the  most  extensive  is  the  central 
group  to  which  belongs  the  typical  culture.  Its  main  char- 
acteristics are : acorns,  the  chief  vegetable  food,  supple- 
mented by  wild  seeds,  roots  and  berries  are  scarcely  used; 
acorns  made  into  bread  by  a roundabout  process;  hunting 
mostly  for  small  game  and  fishing  where  possible;  houses 
of  many  forms,  but  all  simple  shelters  of  brush  or  tule,  or 
more  substantial  conical  lean-to  structures  of  poles ; the  dog 
was  not  used  for  packing,  and  there  were  no  canoes,  but 


226 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


used  rafts  of  tule  for  ferrying;  no  pottery,  but  high  devel- 
opment of  basketry,  both  coil  and  twine;  bags  and  mats 
very  scanty;  cloth  or  other  weaving  of  twisted  elements  not 
known;  clothing  was  simple,  and  scanty,  feet  generally 
bare;  the  bow,  the  only  weapon,  usually  sinew -backed ; 
work  in  skins  very  weak;  work  in  wood,  bone,  etc.,  weak; 
metals  not  at  all;  stone  work  not  advanced;  no  picture 
writing ; designs  only  upon  baskets  and  not  symbolic ; social 
organizations  simple  without  gens  or  clan  forms;  political 
solidarity  almost  lacking;  no  formal  social  ranking,  but 
some  tendency  to  recognize  property  distinctions ; ritualism, 
fetishism,  and  religious  symbolism  almost  lacking;  well 
developed  puberty  ceremonies  for  girls  and  a kind  of  secret 
initiation  for  men;  a mourning  ceremony  in  which  gifts 
are  burned ; a tendency  to  maintain  a series  of  dances  in  a 
fixed  order;  a semi-underground  or  earth-covered  house 
for  ceremonies,  a sweat  house  and  the  sleeping  place  of 
adult  males;  shamanism  conspicuous,  but  absence  of  fasting 
and  other  inducing  methods;  regalia  not  elaborate,  feather 
head  bands  most  general ; creation  and  culture  origin  myths 
prevail,  a dignified  creator,  but  in  addition  coyote  tales. 

As  with  the  preceding  areas,  we  must  again  consider 
intermediate  groups.  In  the  south,  the  characteristic  linguis- 
tic individuality  vanishes  to  make  room  for  large  groups  of 
Yuman  and  Shoshonean  tribes;  here  we  find  some  pottery, 
sandals,  wooden  war  clubs,  and  even  curved  rabbit  sticks, 
all  intrusive;  but,  in  ceremonies  and  other  non-material 
traits,  these  tribes  conform  to  the  California  type  we  have 
outlined.  The  extinct  Santa  Barbara  were  at  least  variants, 
living  upon  sea  food,  having  some  wood  work,  making 
plank  canoes,  and  excellent  workers  of  stone,  bone,  and 
shell.  In  northern  California  are  again  the  Karok,  Yurok, 
Wishosk,  Shasta,  and  Hupa  and  other  Athapascan  tribes; 
here  sea  food  on  the  coast  and  salmon  in  the  interior  rival 
acorns  and  other  foods ; dug-out  canoes ; rectangular  gabled 


NORTH  PACIFIC  COAST  AREA 


227 


houses  of  planks  with  circular  doors;  basketry  almost  ex- 
clusively twined;  elkhorn  and  wooden  trinket  boxes;  elk- 
horn  spoons;  stone  work  superior  to  that  of  central  Cali- 
fornia; the  occasional  use  of  rod,  slat,  and  elkskin  armor 
and  also  basket  hats  of  the  northern  type.  These  all  suggest 
the  culture  farther  north  (Area  4),  as  do  the  appearance  of 
carving  and  the  more  elaborate  decorative  art.  Also,  social 
organization  becomes  more  definite,  with  clear-cut  property 
distinctions,  mourning  ceremonies,  and  the  secret  initiations 
are  wanting;  and  the  use  of  stuffed  albino  deerskins  in  cer- 
tain ceremonies  is  distinctive.  Even  the  mythology  is  said 
to  have  leanings  toward  that  of  the  north  and  east. 

4.  North  Pacific  Coast  Area.  Ranging  northward  from 
California  to  the  Alaskan  peninsula  we  have  an  ethnic  coast 
belt,  known  as  the  North  Pacific  Coast  area.6  This  culture  is 
rather  complex  and  presents  highly  individualized  tribal 
variations;  but  can  be  consistently  treated  under  three  sub- 
divisions: ( a ) the  northern  group,  Tlingit,  Haida  and 
Tsimshian;  ( b ) the  central  group,  the  Kwakiutl  tribes  and 
the  Bellacoola;  and  (c)  the  southern  group,  the  Coast 
Salish,  the  Nootka,  the  Chinook,  Kalapooian,  Waiilatpuan, 
Chimakuan,  and  some  Athapascan  tribes.  The  first  of  these 
seem  to  be  the  type  and  are  characterized  by:  the  great 
dependence  upon  sea  food,  some  hunting  upon  the  mainland, 
large  use  of  berries;  dried  fish,  clams  and  berries  are  the 
staple  food ; cooking  with  hot  stones  in  boxes  and  baskets ; 
large  rectangular  gabled  houses  of  upright  cedar  planks  with 
carved  posts  and  totem  poles;  travel  chiefly  by  water  in 
large,  sea-going  dug-out  canoes,  some  of  which  had  sails; 
no  pottery  nor  stone  vessels,  except  mortars;  baskets  in 
checker,  those  in  twine  reaching  a high  state  of  excellence 
among  the  Tlingit;  coil  basketry  not  made;  mats  of  cedar 
bark  and  soft  bags  in  abundance;  the  Chilkat,  a Tlingit 
tribe,  specialized  in  the  weaving  of  a blanket  of  goat  hair; 
there  was  no  true  loom,  the  warp  hanging  from  a bar,  and 


228 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


weaving  with  the  fingers,  downward,  clothing  rather  scanty, 
chiefly  of  skin,  a wide  basket  hat  (only  one  of  the  kind  on 
the  continent  and  apparently  for  rain  protection) ; feet 
usually  bare,  but  skin  moccasins  and  leggings  were  occasion- 
ally made ; for  weapons  the  bow,  club,  and  a peculiar  dag- 
ger, no  lances ; slat,  rod  and  skin  armor ; wooden  helmets, 
no  shields;  practically  no  chipped  stone  tools,  but  nephrite 
or  green  stone  used ; wood  work  highly  developed,  splitting 
and  dressing  of  planks,  peculiar  bending  for  boxes,  joining 
by  securing  with  concealed  stitches,  high  development  of 
carving  technique;  work  in  copper  may  have  been  aborig- 
inal, but,  if  so,  very  weakly  developed;  decorative  art  is 
conspicuous,  tending  to  realism  in  carved  totem  poles,  house 
posts,  etc. ; some  geometric  art  on  baskets,  but  woven 
blankets  tend  to  be  realistic;  each  family  expresses  its 
mythical  origin  in  a carved  or  painted  crest;  the  tribe  of 
two  exogamic  divisions  with  maternal  descent;  society  or- 
ganized as  chiefs,  nobles,  common  people,  and  slaves ; a 
kind  of  barter  system  expressed  in  the  potlatch  ceremony  in 
which  the  leading  units  of  value  are  blankets  and  certain  con- 
ventional copper  plates;  a complex  ritualistic  system  by 
which  individuals  are  initiated  into  the  protection  of  their 
family  guardian  spirits,  those  so  associated  with  the  same 
spirit  forming  a kind  of  society;  mythology  characterized 
by  the  Raven  legends. 

The  central  group  differs  in  a few  minor  points:  use  a 
hand  stone  hammer  instead  of  a hafted  one;  practically  no 
use  of  skin  clothing,  but  twisted  and  loosely  woven  bark  or 
wool;  no  coil  or  twined  basketry,  all  checker  work;  has  a 
tendency  toward  paternal  descent  for  its  exogamic  groups; 
the  crest  system  less  in  evidence,  but  the  initiation  groups 
very  strong,  particularly  the  cannibal  cult,  and  far  less  asso- 
ciated with  the  clans. 

i\mong  the  southern  group  appears  a strong  tendency  to 
use  stone  arrow-heads  in  contrast  to  the  north;  a peculiar 


ESKIMO  AREA 


229 


flat  club,  vaguely  similar  to  the  New  Zealand  type,  the  occa- 
sional use  of  the  Plains  warclub ; greater  use  of  edible  roots 
(camas,  etc.)  and  berries,  some  use  of  acorns,  as  in  Cali- 
fornia; the  handled  digging-stick ; roasting  in  holes  (espe- 
cially camas),  and  the  pounding  of  dried  salmon;  a tempo- 
rary summer  house  of  bark  or  rushes ; twine  basketry  pre- 
vailed ; the  sewed  rush  mat ; costume  like  the  central  group. 
The  art,  social,  and  ceremonial  traits  of  the  north  all  thin 
out  as  we  move  southward. 

5.  Eskimo  Area.  The  chief  resumes  of  Eskimo  culture 
have  been  made  by  Boas,7  who  divides  them  into  nine  or 
more  groups,  as  follows:  the  Greenland  Eskimo;  the  Es- 
kimo of  southern  Baffin  Land  and  Labrador;  the  Eskimo 
of  Melville  Peninsula,  North  Devon,  north  Baffin  Land,  and 
the  northwest  shore  of  Hudson  Bay;  the  Sagdlirmiut  of 
Southampton  Island;  the  Eskimo  of  Boothia  Felix,  King 
William  Land,  and  the  neighboring  mainland;  the  Eskimo 
of  Victoria  Island  and  Coronation  Gulf;  the  Eskimo  be- 
tween Cape  Bathurst  and  Herschel  Island,  including  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River ; the  Alaskan  Eskimo ; and 
the  Yuit  of  Siberia.  When  we  consider  the  fact  that  the 
Eskimo  are  confined  to  the  coast  line,  and  stretch  from  the 
Aleutian  Islands  to  eastern  Greenland,  we  should  expect 
lack  of  contact  in  many  parts  of  this  long  chain  to  give  rise 
to  many  differences.  While  many  differences  do  exist,  the 
similarities  are  striking,  equal,  if  not  superior,  in  uniform- 
ity to  those  of  any  other  culture  area.  However,  our 
knowledge  of  these  people  is  far  from  satisfactory,  making 
even  this  brief  survey  quite  provisional. 

The  mere  fact  that  they  live  by  the  sea,  and  chiefly  upon 
sea  food,  will  not  of  itself  differentiate  them  from  the  tribes 
of  the  North  Pacific  Coast;  but  the  habit  of  camping  in 
winter  upon  sea  ice  and  living  upon  seal,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer, upon  land  animals,  will  serve  us.  Among  other  traits 
the  kayak  and  “woman’s  boat,”  the  lamp,  the  harpoon,  the 


230 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


float,  woman’s  knife,  bowdrill,  snow  goggles,  the  trussed- 
bow,  and  dog  traction,  with  the  sled,  are  almost  universal 
and,  taken  in  their  entirety,  rather  sharply  differentiate  Es- 
kimo culture  from  the  remainder  of  the  continent.  The 
type  of  winter  shelter  varies  considerably,  but  the  skin  tent 
is  quite  universal  in  summer,  and  the  snowhouse,  as  a more 
or  less  permanent  winter  dwelling  prevails  east  of  Point 
Barrow.  Intrusive  traits  are  also  present;  basketry  of*coil 
and  twine  is  common  in  Alaska ; pottery  also  extended  east- 
ward to  Cape  Parry ; the  Asiatic  pipe  occurs  in  Alaska  and 
the  Indian  pipe  on  the  west  side  of  Hudson  Bay;  likewise, 
some  costumes  beaded  in  general  Indian  style  have  been 
noted  west  of  Hudson  Bay.  All  Eskimo  are  rather  ingen- 
ious workers  with  tools,  in  this  respect  strikingly  like  the 
tribes  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast.  In  Alaska,  where  wood 
is  available,  the  Eskimo  carve  masks,  small  boxes,  and  bowls 
with  great  cleverness. 

These  variants  all  tend  to  disappear  between  Point  Bar- 
row  and  Hudson  Bay,  and  it  may  be  noted  that  they  are  at 
the  same  time  traits  that  occur  in  Asia,  the  North  Pacific 
Coast,  or  the  Mackenzie  Area  (6).  Hence,  we  seem  justi- 
fied in  looking  toward  the  east  for  the  typical  material  cul- 
ture. From  our  limited  knowledge  it  appears  that  the  great 
central  group  from  Banks  Island  on  the  west  to  Smith 
Sound  in  North  Greenland  is  the  home  of  the  purest  traits; 
here  are  snowhouses;  dogs  harnessed  with  single  traces; 
rectangular  stone  kettles;  and  the  almost  entire  absence  of 
wooden  utensils;  a simple  order  of  social  and  political  life 
in  which  the  unit  is  the  family;  a political  chief,  in  the  sense 
known  in  Indian  culture,  not  recognized;  shamanism  rather 
prominent  and  comparable  to  that  found  in  Siberia;  great 
elaboration  of  taboos  and  a corresponding  requirement  of 
confession;  almost  no  ritualistic  ceremonies,  but  at  least 
one  yearly  gathering  in  which  masked  men  impersonate 
gods;  temporary  exchange  of  wives  at  the  preceding;  tmy- 


MACKENZIE  AREA 


231 


thology  simple  and  centering  around  the  goddess  of  the  sea 
animals.  Between  Greenland  and  Labrador  the  differences 
are  small,  and  apparently  due  more  to  modern  European 
influences  than  to  prehistoric  causes.  The  limited  study  of 
archaeological  specimens  by  Dali,8  Solberg,9  and  Boas 10 
suggests  much  greater  cultural  uniformity  in  the  prehistoric 
period,  a conclusion  apparently  borne  out  by  the  collections 
made  by  Stefansson  11  on  the  north  coast.  While  this  is  far 
from  conclusive,  it  is  quite  consistent  with  the  view  that  the 
chief  intrusive  elements  in  Eskimo  culture  are  to  be  found 
west  of  the  Mackenzie  River. 

6.  Mackenzie  Area.  Skirting  the  Eskimo  area  from  east 
to  west  is  a great  interior  belt  of  semi-arctic  lands,  including 
the  greater  part  of  the  interior  of  Canada.  Hudson  Bay 
almost  cuts  it  into  two  parts,  the  western  or  larger  part  occu- 
pied by  the  Dene  tribes,  the  eastern  by  Algonkins,  the  Saul- 
teaux,  Cree,  Montagnais,  and  Naskapi.  The  fauna,  flora, 
and  climate  are  quite  uniform  for  corresponding  latitudes 
and  are  reflected  to  some  extent  in  material  culture,  so  that 
we  should  be  justified  in  considering  it  one  great  area,  if  the 
less  material  traits  did  not  show  definite  distinctions.  As 
noted  in  our  first  chapter,  the  chief  cultural  bond  through 
the  region  is  the  use  of  the  caribou.  The  caribou  ranged 
from  Maine  to  Alaska  and  throughout  all  this  area  furnished 
the  greater  part  of  the  clothing  and  tents  and  a considerable 
portion  of  the  food.  They  could  not  be  taken  easily  in  sum- 
mer, but  in  winter  were  killed  in  drives,  on  the  ice,  or  after 
a thaw,  in  the  water.  They  were  also  snared.  All  of  these 
methods  were  known  from  Alaska  to  Newfoundland.  Be- 
tween the  Mackenzie  and  Hudson  Bay  ranged  the  barren 
ground  variety,  whose  habits  were  somewhat  like  those  of 
the  buffalo  on  the  plains,  and  the  tribes  in  reach  of  their 
range  lived  upon  them  almost  as  completely  as  did  the  In- 
dians of  the  Plains  upon  the  buffalo.12  Along  with  these 
widely  distributed  caribou  traits  go  the  great  use  of  spruce 


232 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


and  birchbark  for  canoes  and  vessels,  babiche  and  bark  fiber, 
toboggans  and  skin  or  bark-covered  tents,  and  the  use  of 
snares  and  nets.  Notwithstanding  these  similarities,  the 
other  aspects  of  culture  for  eastern  Canada  appear  inter- 
mediate to  the  Eastern  Woodland  area  (7)  of  the  United 
States.  Hence,  the  great  Dene  country  of  the  Canadian 
Northwest  is  usually  considered  as  a distinct  culture  area, 
taking  its  name  from  its  largest  river. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Dene  is  rather  fragmentary,  for 
scarcely  a single  tribe  has  been  seriously  studied.  Aside 
from  the  work  of  Father  Morice  13  we  have  only  the  random 
observations  of  explorers  and  fur-traders.  It  is  believed 
that  the  Dene  tribes  fall  into  three  culture  groups.  The  east- 
ern group : the  Yellow  Knives,  Dog  Rib,  Hares,  Slavey, 
Chipewyan,  and  Beaver;  the  southwestern  group:  the  Na- 
hane,  Sekani,  Babine,  and  Carrier;  the  northwestern  group 
comprising  the  Kutchin,  Loucheux,  Ahtena,  and  Khotana. 
The  Chilcotin  are  so  far  removed  culturally  that  we  have 
placed  them  in  the  Plateau  group,  and  the  Tahltan  seem  to 
be  intermediate  to  the  North  Pacific  center. 

Of  these  three  groups,  the  southwestern  is  the  largest  and 
occupies  the  most  favorable  habitat.  From  the  writings  of 
Father  Morice,  a fairly  satisfactory  statement  of  their  cul- 
tures can  be  made,  as  follows : All  the  tribes  are  hunters  of 
large  and  small  game,  caribou  are  often  driven  into  enclo- 
sures, small  game  taken  in  snares  and  traps;  a few  of  the 
tribes  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Pacific  drainage  take  sal- 
mon, but  other  kinds  of  fish  are  largely  used;  large  use  of 
berries  is  made,  they  are  mashed  and  dried  by  a special  pro- 
cess; edible  roots  and  other  vegetable  foods  are  used  to 
some  extent;  utensils  are  of  wood  and  bark;  no  pottery; 
bark  vessels  for  boiling  with  and  without  use  of  stones; 
travel  in  summer  largely  by  canoe ; in  winter  by  snowshoe ; 
dog  sleds  used  to  some  extent,  but  chiefly  since  trade  days, 
the  toboggan  form  prevailing;  clothing  of  skins;  mittens 


MACKENZIE  AREA 


233 


and  caps;  no  weaving  except  rabbitskin  garments,  but  fine 
network  in  snowshoes,  bags,  and  fish  nets,  materials  of  bark 
fiber,  sinew,  and  babiche;  there  is  also  a special  form  of 
woven  quill  work  with  geometric  designs ; the  typical  habi- 
tation seems  to  be  the  double  lean-to,  though  many  intrusive 
forms  occur;  fish-hooks  and  spears ; limited  use  of  copper ; 
work  in  stone  weak;  social  organization  simple,  but  yet 
showing  forms  of  maternal  clans,  property  distinctions,  etc., 
reminding  one  of  the  North  Pacific  area;  the  hospitable 
exchange  of  wives ; shamanism  very  prominent,  but  no  good 
evidence  of  ritualism. 

Unfortunately,  the  data  available  on  the  other  groups  are 
less  definite,  so  that  we  cannot  decisively  classify  the  tribes. 
From  Hearne,14  Mackenzie,15  and  others  it  appears  that  the 
following  traits  prevailed  over  the  entire  Dene  area:  the 
twisting  of  bark  fiber  without  spindle  and  its  general  use, 
reminding  one  of  sennit;  snares  and  nets  for  all  kinds  of 
game;  the  use  of  spruce  and  birchbark  for  vessels  and 
canoes;  basketry  of  split  spruce  root  ( watap ) for  cooking 
with  hot  stones,  noted  by  early  observers;  the  toboggan; 
in  summer  the  use  of  babiche;  the  short-handled  stone 
adze;  iron  pyrites  instead  of  the  firedrill  and  fungus  for 
touchwood;  the  use  of  the  cache;  and,  above  all,  depend- 
ence upon  the  caribou ; a tendency  toward  the  simplest  kind 
of  social  grouping;  prominence  of  shamanism  and  weakness 
of  ritualism.  These  seem  to  be  the  most  characteristic  traits 
of  the  Dene  as  a whole,  and,  while  neither  numerous  nor 
complex,  are  still  quite  distinctive. 

In  discussing  this  area,  some  writers  have  commented 
upon  the  relative  poverty  of  distinctive  traits  and  the  pre- 
ponderance of  borrowed,  or  intrusive  ones.  For  example, 
the  double  lean-to  is  peculiarly  their  own,  though  used 
slightly  in  parts  of  the  Plateau  area ; but  among  the  south- 
western Dene  we  frequently  find  houses,  like  those  of  the 
Tsimshian,  among  the  Babine  and  northern  Carrier;  while 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


234 

the  Sekanais  and  southern  Carrier  use  the  underground 
houses  of  the  Salish;  and  among  the  Chipewyan,  Beaver, 
and  most  of  the  eastern  group,  the  skin  or  bark-covered  tipi 
of  the  Cree  is  common.  Similar  differences  have  been  noted 
in  costume  and  such  social  traits  as  clans  and  property  dis- 
tinctions, in  the  west.  Pemmican,  a specialty  of  the  eastern 
Indians,  was  made  by  the  eastern  Dene.  According  to 
Hearne  16  some  of  the  eastern  Dene  painted  their  shields 
with  Plains-like  devices,  and  in  the  northwestern  group  we 
find  some  sleds  of  Eskimo  pattern.  Such  borrowing  of 
traits  from  other  areas  is,  however,  not  peculiar  to  the  Dene, 
and  while  it  may  be  more  prevalent  among  them,  it  should 
be  noted  that  our  best  available  data  are  from  tribes  margi- 
nal to  the  area.  It  is  just  in  the  geographical  center  of  this 
area  that  good  data  so  far  fail  us.  Therefore,  the  inference 
is  that  there  is  a distinct  type  of  Dene  culture,  and  that  their 
lack  of  individuality  has  been  over-estimated. 

7.  Eastern  Woodland  Area.  We  come  now  to  the  so- 
called  Eastern  Woodland  area,  the  characterization  of  which 
is  difficult.  As  just  noted,  its  northern  border  extends  to 
the  Arctic  and  all  the  territory  between  the  Eskimo  above, 
and  Lakes  Superior  and  Huron  below,  and  eastward  to  the 
St.  Lawrence,  is  the  home  of  a culture  whose  material  traits 
are  comparable  to  those  of  the  preceding  area.  In  brief, 
these  traits  are  the  taking  of  caribou  in  pens;  the  snaring 
of  game;  the  considerable  use  of  small  game  and  fish;  the 
use  of  berry  food;  the  weaving  of  rabbitskins;  the  birch 
canoe ; the  toboggan ; the  conical  skin  or  bark-covered  shel- 
ter; the  absence  of  basketry  and  pottery;  use  of  bark  and 
wooden  utensils.  The  tribes  most  distinctly  of  this  culture 
are  the  O jibway  north  of  the  Lakes,  including  the  Saulteaux, 
the  Wood  Cree,  the  Montagnais,  and  the  Naskapi. 

Taking  the  above  as  the  northern  group,  we  find  the  main 
body  falls  into  three  large  divisions : 

1.  The  lroquoian  tribes  (Huron,  Wyandot,  Erie,  Susque- 


EASTERN  WOODLAND  AREA' 


235 

hanna,  and  the  Five  Nations)  extending  from  north  to  south 
and  thus  dividing  the  Algonkin  tribes. 

2.  The  Central  Algonkin,  west  of  the  Iroquois:  Some 

O jibway,  the  Ottawa,  Menomini,  Sauk  and  Fox,  Potawa- 
tomi,  Peoria,  Illinois,  Kickapoo,  "Miami,  Piankashaw,  Shaw- 
nee, also  the  Siouan  Winnebago. 

3.  The  Eastern  Algonkin:  the  Abnaki  group,  and  the 
Micmac  (not  to  be  distinguished  from  the  northern  border 
group  noted  above  save  by  their  feeble  cultivation  of  maize), 
the  New  England  tribes,  and  the  Delaware. 

While  the  Iroquoian  tribes  seem  to  have  been  predomi- 
nant, their  culture,  as  a whole,  suggests  a southern  origin, 
thus  disqualifying  them  for  places  in  the  type  group.  The 
Eastern  tribes  are  not  well  known,  many  of  them  being 
extinct,  but  they  also  seem  to  have  been  strongly  influenced 
by  the  Iroquois  and  by  southern  culture.  We  must,  there- 
fore, turn  to  the  Central  group  for  the  type.  Even  here 
the  data  are  far  from  adequate;  for  the  Peoria,  Illinois, 
Miami,  and  Piankashaw  have  almost  faded  away.  Little 
is  known  of  the  Kickapoo  and  Ottawa,  and  no  serious 
studies  of  the  Shawnee  are  available.  The  latter,  however, 
seem  to  belong  with  the  transitional  tribes  of  the  Eastern 
group,  if  not  actually  to  the  Southeastern  area.  Our  dis- 
cussion, therefore,  must  be  based  on  the  O jibway,  Menom- 
ini, Sauk  and  Fox,  and  Winnebago.17 

Enumerating  their  most  characteristic  traits,  we  have: 
maize,  squashes,  and  beans  cultivated  (though  weakly  by 
the  Ojibway)  ; wild  rice  where  available  was  a great  staple; 
maple  sugar  was  manufactured ; deer,  bear,  and  even  buf- 
falo were  hunted,  also  wild  fowl ; fishing  was  fairly  devel- 
oped, especially  sturgeon  fishing  on  the  lakes;  pottery  was 
weakly  developed  but  formerly  used  for  cooking  vessels; 
vessels  of  wood  and  bark  were  common;  some  splint  bas- 
ketry; two  types  of  shelter  prevailed,  a dome-shaped  bark 
or  mat-covered  lodge  for  winter,  a rectangular  bark  house 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


236 

for  summer,  though  the  0 jibway  tended  to  use  the  conical 
type  of  the  northern  border  group  instead  of  the  latter; 
canoes  of  bark  and  dug-outs  were  used,  where  possible;  the 
toboggan  was  occasionally  used,  snowshoes  were  common; 
dog  traction  rare;  weaving  of  bark  fiber  downward  with 
the  fingers;  soft  bags;  pack  lines;  and  fish  nets;  clothing 
of  skins,  soft-soled  moccasins  with  drooping  flaps,  leggings, 
breechcloth,  and  sleeved  shirts  for  men ; for  women,  a skirt 
and  jacket,  though  a one-piece  dress  was  known ; skin  robes, 
some  woven  of  rabbitskin ; no  aiimor,  bows  of  plain  wood, 
no  lances,  both  the  ball-ended  and  gun-shaped  wooden  club, 
in  trade  days  the  tomahawk;  deer  were  often  driven  into 
the  water  and  killed  from  canoes  (the  use  of  the  jack-light 
should  be  noted) ; fish  taken  with  hooks,  spears,  and  nets, 
small  game  trapped  and  snared;  work  in  skins  confined  to 
clothing;  bags  usually  woven,  other  receptacles  made  of 
birchbark;  mats  of  reed  and  cedarbark  common;  work  in 
wood,  stone,  and  bone  weakly  developed ; probably  consid- 
erable use  of  copper  in  prehistoric  times;  feather-work 
rare ; a gens  organization,  no  social  classes  or  formal  prop- 
erty distinctions ; decorative  art  tending  toward  non- 
geometric forms;  a secret  initiation  ceremony  known  as 
the  Midewiwin;  a well-developed  scalp  dance;  fixed  ritual- 
istic procedures  in  conducting  a war  party;  ceremonial  bun- 
dles for  war,  hunting,  and  also  for  social  groups ; mythology 
complex,  dealing  in  part  with  the  deeds  of  Manitou  beings ; 
elaboration  of  song  rituals  for  many  phases  of  routine 
life:  specialization  in  root  and  herb  formulas  for  treating 
the  sick,  but  some  shamanistic  traits,  as  the  juggler's 
lodge. 

When  we  come  to  the  eastern  group  we  find  agriculture 
more  intensive  (except  in  the  extreme  north)  and  pottery 
more  highly  developed.  Woven  feather  cloaks  seem  to  have 
been  common,  a southern  trait.  Work  in  stone  also  seems 
a little  more  complex;  a special  development  of  steatite 


SOUTHEASTERN  AREA 


237 


work.  More  use  was  made  of  edible  roots.  The  decorative 
art  was  less  geometric  and  ritualism  weaker  than  in  the  typi- 
cal group. 

The  Iroquoian  tribes  18  were  even  more  intensive  agricul- 
turists and  potters;  they  made  some  use  of  the  blowgun; 
developed  cornhusk  weaving;  carved  elaborate  masks  from 
wood;  lived  in  rectangular  long  houses  of  peculiar  pattern; 
built  fortifications ; and  were  superior  in  bone  work ; main- 
tained a series  of  masked  secret  societies,  a corn  harvest  fes- 
tival, and,  above  all,  a highly  developed  political  organiza- 
tion or  “League  of  the  Six  Nations,”  which  made  syste- 
matic conquests. 

8.  Southeastern  Area . The  Southeastern  area  is  conven- 
iently divided  by  the  Mississippi  River,  the  typical  culture 
occurring  in  the  east.  As  we  have  noted,  the  Powhatan 
group  and  perhaps  the  Shawnee  are  intermediate.  These 
eliminated,  we  have  the  Muskhogean  and  Iroquoian  tribes 
(Cherokee  and  Tuscarora),  as  the  chief  groups,  also  the 
Yuchi,  Eastern  Siouan,  Tunican,  and  Quapaw.  The  Chiti- 
macha  and  Attacapa  differ  from  the  others  chiefly  in  the 
greater  use  of  aquatic  foods.  The  Caddoan  tribes  had  a dif- 
ferent type  of  shelter  and  were  otherwise  slightly  deflected 
toward  the  Plains  culture.  We  have  little  data  for  the  Ton- 
kawa,  Karankawa,  and  Carrizo,  but  they  seem  not  to  have 
been  agriculturists  and  some  of  them  seem  to  have  lived  in 
tipis  like  the  Lipan,  being  almost  true  buffalo  Indians.  These 
thus  stand  as  intermediate  and  may  belong  with  the  Plains 
or  the  Southwest  area.  The  Biloxi  of  the  east,  the  extinct 
Timuqua,  and  the  Florida  Seminole  are  also  variants  from 
the  type.  They  were  far  less  dependent  upon  agriculture 
and  made  considerable  use  of  aquatic  food.  The  Timuqua 
lived  in  circular  houses  and,  as  did  the  Seminole,19  used 
bread  made  of  coonti  roots  ( Zarnia  pumila),  the  method  of 
preparation  suggesting  West  Indian  influence.  The  eating 
of  human  flesh  is  also  set  down  as  a trait  of  several  Gulf 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


238 

Coast  tribes.  Our  typical  culture  then  may  be  found  at  its 
best  among  the  Muskhogean,  Yuchi,  and  Cherokee.20 

The  following  are  the  most  distinctive  traits : great  use  of 
vegetable  food  and  intensive  agriculture;  raised  maize,  cane 
(a  kind  of  millet),  pumpkins,  melons,  tobacco,  and  after 
contact  with  Europeans,  quickly  took  up  peaches,  figs,  etc. ; 
large  use  of  wild  vegetables  also;  dogs  eaten,  the  only  do- 
mestic animal,  but  chickens,  hogs,  horses,  and  even  cattle 
were  adopted  quickly ; deer,  bear  and  bison  in  the  west  were 
the  large  game,  for  deer  the  stalking  and  surround  methods 
were  used;  turkeys  and  small  game  were  hunted  and  fish 
taken  when  convenient  (fish  poisons  were  in  use,  suggesting 
South  America) ; of  manufactured  foods — bears’  oil,  hick- 
ory-nut oil,  persimmon  bread,  and  hominy  are  noteworthy; 
houses  were  generally  rectangular  with  curved  roofs,  cov- 
ered with  thatch  or  bark,  also  often  provided  with  plaster 
walls  reinforced  with  wickerwork;  towns  were  well  forti- 
fied with  palisades ; dug-out  canoes ; costume  was  moderate, 
chiefly  of  deerskins,  robes  of  bison,  etc.,  shirt-like  gar- 
ments for  men,  skirts  and  toga-like  upper  garments  for 
women,  boot-like  moccasins  for  winter ; some  woven  fabrics 
of  bark  fiber,  and  fine  netted  feather  cloaks;  some  buffalo- 
hair  weaving  in  the  west,  weaving  downward  with  the  fin- 
gers; fine  mats  of  cane  and  some  cornhusk  work;  baskets 
of  cane  and  splints,  the  double  or  nested  basket  and  the 
basket  meal  sieve  are  special  forms;  knives  of  cane,  darts 
of  cane  and  bone;  blowguns  in  general  use;  good  potters, 
coil  process,  paddle  decorations ; 21  skin  dressing  by  slightly 
different  method  from  elsewhere  (macerated  in  mortars) 
and  straight  scrapers  of  hafted  stone;  work  in  stone  of  a 
high  order,  but  no  true  sculpture;  little  metal  work;  cere- 
monial houses,  or  temples,  for  sun  worship  in  which  were 
perpetual  fires;  these,  and  other  important  buildings  set 
upon  mounds;  elaborate  planting  and  harvest  rituals,  espe- 
cially an  important  ceremony  known  as  the  “busk”;  the 


SOUTHWESTERN  AREA 


239 


kindling  of  new  fire  and  the  use  of  the  “black  drink” ; a clan 
system  with  society  composed  of  chiefs  and  four  grades  of 
subjects;  chiefs  regarded  as  under  the  sacred  influence  of 
the  Sun  God,  reminding  us  of  Peru ; political  systems  devel- 
oped, with  strong  confederacies ; strong  development  of  the 
calumet  procedure ; shamanism  prominent. 

9.  Southwestern  Area.  In  the  Southwestern  area  we 
have  a small  portion  of  the  United  States  (New  Mexico 
and  Arizona)  and  an  indefinite  portion  of  Mexico.  For 
convenience,  we  shall  ignore  all  tribes  south  of  the  interna- 
tional boundary.  Within  these  limits,  we  have  what  appear 
to  be  two  types  of  culture:  the  Pueblos  and  the  nomadic 
tribes,  but  from  our  point  of  view  this  distinction  seems  not 
wholly  justifiable,  since  the  differences  are  chiefly  those  of 
architecture  and  social  grouping  and  not  unlike  those  already 
noted  in  the  Eastern  Woodland  area.  On  account  of  its 
highly  developed  state  and  its  prehistoric  antecedents,  the 
Pueblo  culture  appears  as  the  type.22  The  cultures  of  the 
different  villages  are  far  from  uniform,  but,  ignoring  minor 
variations,  fall  into  three  geographical  groups : the  Hopi 
(Walpi,  Sichumovi,  Hano  [Tewa],  Shipaulovi,  Mishong- 
novi,  Shungopovi,  and  Oraibi)  ; Zuni  (Zuni  proper,  Pes- 
cado,  Nutria,  and  Ojo  Caliente) ; and  the  Rio  Grande 
(Taos,  Picuris,  San  Juan,  Santa  Clara,  San  Ildefonso, 
Tesuque,  Pojoaque,  Nambe,  Jemez,  Pecos,  Sandia,  Isleta — 
all  of  Tanoan  stock;  San  Felipe,  Cochiti,  Santo  Domingo, 
Santa  Ana,  Sia,  Laguna,  and  Acoma — Keresan  stock).  The 
culture  of  the  whole  may  be  characterized  first  by  certain 
traits  not  yet  found  in  our  survey  of  the  continent;  viz., 
the  main  dependence  upon  maize  and  other  cultivated  foods 
(men  did  the  cultivating  and  weaving  of  cloth  instead  of 
women,  as  above) ; the  use  of  a grinding  stone,  or  metate, 
instead  of  a mortar ; the  art  of  masonry ; loom  or  upward 
weaving ; cultivated  cotton  as  textile  material ; pottery  dec- 
orated in  color;  a unique  type  of  building;  and  the  domes- 


240 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


tication  of  the  turkey.  These  certainly  serve  to  sharply  dif- 
ferentiate this  culture. 

While  the  main  dependence  was  placed  on  vegetable  food 
there  was  some  hunting ; the  eastern  villages  hunted  buffalo 
and  deer,  especially  Taos.  The  most  unique  hunting  weapon 
is  the  flat,  curved  rabbit  stick,  in  fact,  a kind  of  boomerang. 
Drives  of  rabbits  and  antelope  were  practised.  The  princi- 
pal wild  vegetable  food  was  the  pinon  nut.  Of  manufactured 
foods,  piki  bread  is  the  most  unique.  In  former  times,  the 
villages  often  traded  for  meat  with  the  more  nomadic  tribes. 
Taos,  Pecos  and  a few  of  the  frontier  villages  used  buffalo 
robes  and  often  dressed  in  deerskins,  but  woven  robes  were 
usual.  Men  wore  aprons  and  a robe  when  needed.  In  addi- 
tion to  cloth  robes,  some  were  woven  of  rabbitskin  and  some 
netted  with  turkey  feathers.  Women  wore  a woven  gar- 
ment reaching  from  the  shoulder  to  the  knees,  fastened  over 
the  right  shoulder  only.  For  the  feet,  hard-soled  mocca- 
sins, those  for  women  having  long  strips  of  deerskin  wound 
around  the  leg.  Pottery  was  highly  developed  and  served 
other  uses  than  the  practical.  Basketry  was  known,  but  not 
so  highly  developed  as  among  the  non-Pueblo  tribes.  The 
dog  was  kept,  but  not  used  in  transportation,  and  there  were 
no  boats.  The  mechanical  arts  were  not  highly  developed ; 
their  stone  work  and  work  in  wood,  while  of  an  advanced 
type,  does  not  excel  that  of  some  other  areas;  some  work 
in  turquoise,  but  nothing  in  metal.  Art  flourished  chiefly 
as  pottery  decoration  and  in  ceremonial  painting ; the  latter 
tended  to  be  symbolic  but  usually  bordered  upon  the  realis- 
tic; a complex  social  grouping  in  which  relationship  is 
usually  maternal,  but  the  unity  of  the  system  is  apparent  in 
that  the  same  group  names  can  be  traced  throughout  the  dif- 
ferent villages ; 23  each  village  independent  with  an  elective 
governor  and  a war  chief,  the  final  sanction,  however,  rest- 
ing with  a supreme  religious  officer;  ritualism  very  compli- 
cated; universal  offerings  of  maize  meal  and  other  objects 


SOUTHWESTERN  AREA 


241 


at  shrines;  extensive  use  of  sand  painted  altars;  purifica- 
tion by  emetics  and  head-washing;  two  sets  of  priests  and 
ceremonies,  one  for  summer,  the  other  for  winter;  many 
societies  or  cults ; a snake  dance  among  the  Hopi 24  and  a 
rain  ceremony  at  Sia  are  special  demonstrations;  the  most 
common  are  the  kachina  ceremonies,  part  of  which  are 
masked  dances;  mythology  characterized  by  migration 
tales. 

The  Pima25  once  lived  in  adobe  houses  but  not  of  the 
Pueblo  type ; they  developed  irrigation  but  also  made  exten- 
sive use  of  wild  plants  (mesquite,  saguaro,  etc.).  They 
raised  cotton  and  wove  cloth,  were  indifferent  potters,  but 
experts  in  basketry.  The  kindred  Papago  were  similar, 
though  less  advanced.  The  Mohave,  Yuma,  Cocopa,  Mari- 
copa, and  Yavapai  used  a square,  flat-roofed  house  of  wood, 
did  not  practise  irrigation,  were  not  good  basket  makers 
(excepting  the  Yavapai),  but  were  otherwise  similar  to  the 
Pima.  The  Walapai  and  Havasupai  were  somewhat  more 
nomadic.  Among  all  these  ritualism  was  weak  in  contrast 
to  the  Pueblos,  but  we  have  very  little  data  on  the  subject. 

In  some  respects  the  Pima  and  their  ethnic  neighbors 
appear  to  be  transitional  to  the  Pueblo  type,  but  when  we 
come  to  the  Athapascan-speaking  tribes  of  the  eastern  side 
of  the  area  we  find  some  intermediate  cultures.  Thus,  the 
Jicarilla  and  Mescalero  used  the  Plains  tipi;  they  raised 
but  little ; gathered  wild  vegetable  foods  and  hunted  buffalo 
and  other  animals ; no  weaving,  but  costumes  of  skin  in  the 
Plains  type;  made  a little  pottery;  good  coil  baskets;  used 
glass-bead  technique  of  the  Plains.  The  southern  Ute  were 
also  in  this  class.  The  western  Apache  differed  little  from 
these,  but  rarely  used  tipis  and  gave  a little  more  attention 
to  agriculture.  All  used  shields  of  buffalo  hide  and  roasted 
certain  roots  in  holes.  In  general,  while  the  Apache  have 
certain  undoubted  Pueblo  traits,  they  also  remind  one  of 
the  Plains  and  the  Plateaus. 


242 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


The  Navajo  seem  to  have  taken  on  their  most  striking 
traits  under  European  influence;  but  their  old  type  of 
shelter  is  again  the  up-ended  stick  type  of  the  north,  while 
their  costume,  pottery,  and  feeble  attempts  at  basketry  and 
formerly  at  agriculture,  with  their  strong  leaning  toward 
ritualism,  all  suggest  Pueblo  influence. 

Thus,  in  the  widely  diffused  traits  of  agriculture,  metate, 
pottery,  and,  to  a less  degree,  the  weaving  of  cloth  with 
loom  and  spindle,  former  use  of  sandals,  a similar  social 
system,  and  intense  ritualism,  we  have  common  cultural 
bonds  between  all  the  tribes  of  the  Southwest,  uniting  them 
in  one  culture  area.  In  all  these  the  Pueblos  lead.  The 
non-Pueblo  tribes  skirting  the  Plains  and  Plateaus  occupy 
an  intermediate  position,  as,  doubtless,  do  the  tribes  to  the 
southwest,  from  which  it  appears  that,  after  all,  we  have 
but  one  distinct  general  type  of  culture  centering  in  this 
area. 

io.  The  Nahua  Area.  We  have  just  seen  how  the  Pueblo 
type  of  culture  centered  in  the  upper  Rio  Grande  Valley 
and  how  its  varying  characteristics  extend  down  into  Mex- 
ico. It  is  clear  from  the  historical  data  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  that  when  Cortez  landed  on  the  Gulf  Coast  there 
was  one  center  of  culture  for  the  whole  stretch  of  country 
between  the  Rio  Grande  and  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  that  its 
most  typical  representative  was  the  Aztec  group  round 
about  the  City  of  Mexico.  Yet,  the  Tarascan,  the  Zapotec 
and  the  Mixtec  were  almost  equally  typical,  while  somewhat 
less  typical  were  the  Totonac,  and  the  Otomi. 

Some  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America,  the 
center  of  the  area  was  in  Yucatan,  among  the  Maya,  whence 
it  seems  to  have  shifted  to  the  northern  tribes  we  have  just 
noted.  Within  the  bounds  of  this  older  center  are  found 
the  most  impressive  ruins  in  the  New  World  (p.  102). 
While  we  cannot  connect  any  one  ruin  with  a specific  sur- 
viving Maya  group,  it  is  certain  that  the  builders  of  all  of 


NAHUA  AREA 


243 


them  were  members  of  the  Maya  stock.  The  attainment  of 
this  result  is  one  of  the  most  important  triumphs  of  our 
science,  for  had  we  been  unable  to  so  connect  these  ruins 
with  the  Maya,  we  should  find  the  whole  Mexican-Central 
American  problem  extremely  baffling. 

The  Spaniards  found  the  Maya  in  eighteen  or  more  inde- 
pendent tribal  groups,  no  longer  living  in  pretentious  cities, 
but  no  doubt  representing  the  original  social  units  forming 
the  ancient  Maya  federation.  That  they  were  still  of  a 
culture  type,  comparable  to  the  Aztec  group,  is  indicated  by 
extensive  agriculture  (maize,  peppers,  beans,  cacao,  etc.), 
the  domestication  of  bees  for  the  honey  and  the  wax,  weav- 
ing of  cotton  so  fine  that  the  Spaniards  mistook  it  for  silk, 
large  canoes,  and  trade  with  Cuba,  hieroglyphic  books,  a 
gentile  organization  with  animal  names,  etc.  Archaeological 
research  has  revealed  their  former  ascendency  in  archi- 
tecture, art,  calendar  systems,  and  astronomical  knowledge. 
A great  deal  of  these  specialized  traits  of  culture  passed  to 
the  Aztec,  but  one  feature  in  particular  seems  to  differen- 
tiate Maya  culture : viz.,  the  absence  of  copper  tools.  Their 
culture  was  essentially  a stone  age  culture,  which  used  cop- 
per and  gold,  particularly  the  latter,  only  for  ornament. 
In  the  smelting  and  casting  of  gold  they  were  very  skilful. 
Thus  we  have  in  the  ancient  Maya  a fine  example  of  the 
height  to  which  a people  may  rise  with  only  tools  of  stone 
and  wood.  While  the  later  Aztec  culture  was  in  foundation 
a stone  culture,  it  went  somewhat  farther  than  the  Maya  in 
the  development  of  copper  tools,  but  not  so  far  as  did  the 
Inca  of  Peru. 

The  present  state  of  native  culture  in  the  Central  Ameri- 
can States  is  quite  the  reverse  of  what  the  archaeology  would 
lead  one  to  expect.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  Maya 
area  in  which  quite  primitive  and  loosely  organized  groups 
of  people  are  found  still  speaking  Maya  languages.  One  of 
these  groups,  known  as  Lacandones,  has  been  carefully 


244 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


studied  26  and  may  be  taken  as  the  general  historic  type  for 
the  whole  of  Central  America.  Its  characteristics  are : agri- 
culture, hunting  and  fishing,  carried  on  about  in  the  same 
proportion  as  in  the  Amazon  country;  maize,  potatoes,  a 
yucca,  calabashes,  tobacco,  corn,  etc.,  raised;  cotton  raised 
and  spun ; some  pottery ; bees  domesticated ; bows  and 
stone-pointed  arrows;  water  drums;  gourd  rattles;  the 
ceremonial  life  simple,  consisting  in  the  main  of  an  annual 
renewing  ceremony  and  numerous  offerings,  from  all  of 
which  women  are  excluded.  Strange  to  say,  no  knowledge 
of  the  calendar  system  and  writing  of  the  Maya  period 
survives,  for  Maya  intellectual  culture  being  exclusive  to 
the  priestly  class,  either  passed  over  to  the  Aztec  conquerors 
or  into  oblivion. 

Aztec  culture  embodied  traits  similar  to  those  of  the 
Maya.27  They  had  a highly  organized  government  and 
maintained  armies;  a gentile  social  order  with  gens  land 
rights ; intensive  agriculture,  maize,  beans,  peppers,  gourds, 
cotton,  fruits;  intoxicating  drink,  or  pulque,  from  maguey 
plant;  were  skilful  builders;  made  ornaments  of  gold,  sil- 
ver and  copper,  cast  in  molds  of  wax,  clay  and  charcoal; 
made  some  tools  of  copper  and  tin;  a gold  wire  technique 
from  which  filigree  work  was  derived;  fine  feather  mosaics 
by  the  glue  method  for  which  large  aviaries  were  main- 
tained; work  in  obsidian  and  jadeite  highly  developed,  cut- 
ting tools,  mirrors  and  ornaments ; stone  mosaic  ornaments ; 
finely  woven  cloth  of  cotton  and  agave  with  excellent  dyes; 
fair  potters;  books  on  parchment  and  on  maguey  paper;  an 
organized  priesthood  in  whose  hands  were  education  and 
higher  knowledge,  literature  was  cultivated ; separate 
schools  for  girls  and  boys  maintained;  children  of 
a social  class  only,  educated;  a calendar  system  derived 
from  the  Maya,  and  an  elaborate  religious  system  in  which 
sacrifices  were  prominent ; rituals  recited  in  the  temples  for 
regular  parts  of  each  day  and  night  and  almost  constant 


CHIBCHA  AREA  245 

sacrificing  of  quails,  rabbits  and  flowers;  at  certain  human 
sacrifices  some  of  the  flesh  was  ceremonially  eaten. 

Just  how  far  north  and  south  the  full  series  of  Aztec 
traits  was  diffused  cannot  be  stated,  but  for  many  years 
preceding  the  landing  of  Cortez  they  had  been  subjecting 
tribe  after  tribe  and  forcing  upon  them  their  own  culture. 
The  efficiency  and  character  of  their  political  system  has 
been  presented  with  great  clearness  by  Bandelier.28  To  the 
north,  beyond  the  Tarascan  were  the  Otomi,  by  tradition 
the  forerunners  of  the  Aztec,  but  in  later  times,  at  least, 
less  typical.  Still  further  north  we  meet  the  Pima-speaking 
tribes,  Huichol,  Cora,  Mayo,  Yaqui,  etc.,  whose  culture  is 
clearly  intermediate  to  that  of  the  Aztec  and  the  Pueblo 
area.  Just  what  the  relative  values  may  have  been  in  the 
past  will  doubtless  be  revealed  by  future  research. 

Immediately  to  the  south  were  the  Mixes,  Zoque,  Chia- 
panec,  etc.,  some  of  which  appear  in  early  Spanish  writings 
as  wild  savage  cannibals,  but  their  later  docile  appearance 
discredits  these  old  accounts.  Yet  we  may  be  certain  that 
they  were  of  less  culture  than  the  Aztec  or  truly  inter- 
mediate. 

SOUTH  AMERICAN  CULTURE  AREAS 

11.  The  Chibcha  Area.  On  the  southern  frontier  of  the 
old  Maya  territory  we  meet  such  peoples  as  the  Lenca  and 
Xicaque  of  less  intense  culture,  but  still  manifesting  many 
of  the  fundamental  traits  of  the  Nahua  center.  Yet  when 
near  the  boundary  of  Costa  Rica,  we  find  wilder  tribes  with 
cultures  suggesting  South  America.  Just  across  the  line 
we  meet  with  the  Chibcha-speaking  Talamanca  and  the 
Chiriqui.  From  here  down  through  the  Isthmus  we  seem  to 
find  an  increasing  number  of  such  traits  as  poisoned  arrows, 
fish  poisons,  hammocks,  and  palisaded  villages,  all  highly 
characteristic  off  South  American  cultures.  In  fact,  the 
whole  isthmian  country  from  the  lower  part  of  Nicaragua 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


246 

down  is  a marginal  part  of  the  Chibcha  culture  area,  center- 
ing about  Bogota,  Colombia. 

Throughout  this  area  we  have  environmental  conditions 
similar  to  those  surrounding  the  Maya,  for  the  whole  outer 
marginal  circumference  is  studded  with  wild  tribes  and 
even  the  highly  organized  groups  comprising  the  center  in 
Colombia  have  some  of  these  lowly  folk  interspersed  among 
them. 

The  dominating  stock  was  the  Chibcha,  whose  culture 
may  be  taken  as  the  type.29  Like  all  Andean  peoples,  they 
were  agricultural,  producing  maize,  potatoes,  manioc,  beans, 
and  squashes ; no  domestic  animals  for  transportation ; irri- 
gation systems  highly  developed ; salt  was  made  on  a large 
scale  and  traded  to  outlying  tribes;  cotton  was  raised  and 
weaving  highly  developed ; fine  dyeing ; no  stone  buildings, 
cane  and  thatch  the  rule,  walls  of  wattling,  plastered  with 
clay;  roads  and  suspension  bridges;  no  copper,  but  great 
skill  in  gold  work,  in  fact,  the  center  of  the  art  for  the 
New  World;  a clan  organization,  or  maternal  descent;  a 
kind  of  caste  system;  one  tribe,  the  Panche,  is  credited  with 
exogamous  clans;  no  evidence  of  books  or  calendar  sys- 
tems; human  sacrifices  to  the  sun  as  an  incident  in  sacri- 
fices of  all  kinds;  an  infinite  number  of  local  shrines  where 
some  power  was  assumed  to  be  manifest  to  which  offerings 
were  made ; five  sacred  lakes ; an  organized  priesthood  with 
a single  head ; ceremonial  foot-races ; coca  chewing  instead 
of  tobacco  and  great  use  of  chicha;  but  some  tobacco  was 
used  both  as  snuff  and  for  smoking  in  stone  pipes ; a myth- 
ical white  man  who  was  the  culture. hero,  called  Bochica;  a 
deluge  myth ; an  Atlas  idea  of  the  world ; a fairly  compact 
political  organization;  tribute  or  taxes  in  gold  and  cloth 
chiefly;  a commercial  system  with  markets,  and  a kind  of 
currency.  For  further  details,  see  the  proper  heading  under 
archaeological  classification. 

As  to  just  how  far  the  intermediate  fringe  of  this  culture 


INCA  AREA 


247 


extended  into  Venezuela,  we  cannot  say,  but  from  archaeo- 
logical evidence  it  seems  to  have  reached  out  well  into  the 
highlands  of  the  interior.  On  the  south,  it  met  Inca  in- 
fluence in  Ecuador. 

1 2.  The  Inca  Area.  The  approximate  northern  border  of 
the  Inca  area  is  near  the  equator,  in  the  highlands  of  Ecua- 
dor, and  its  southern  limits  somewhere  in  the  Atacama  desert 
of  Chile.  It  is  remarkably  narrow,  following  the  coast  belt 
of  elevated  Andean  country.  Another  peculiarity  is  that 
the  descent  to  the  low  level  of  the  Amazon  is  abrupt,  with- 
out the  usual  broad  belt  of  plateau  land,  and  in  keeping  with 
this,  we  find  strong  contrasts  in  culture,  the  intermediate 
tribes  being  chiefly  in  the  north  and  south.  Yet,  as  we  shall 
see  in  another  place,  some  Inca  traits  did  find  their  way  down 
into  the  lowlands. 

The  dominating  stock  languages  are  the  Quechua  and 
Aymara,  having  northern  and  southern  distributions  re- 
spectively.30 Reference  to  the  linguistic  map  will  show  a 
few  minor  stocks,  chiefly  in  the  south,  who  form  in  the 
main  an  intermediate  group.  Among  the  largest  of  these 
are  the  Atacamas  of  northern  Chile.  Two  small  remnant 
stocks,  the  Puquinas  and  the  Lecan  of  Lake  Titicaca  and  the 
Changoan  of  the  north  Chilean  coast  were  simple  fisher  folk 
who  had  acquired  but  few  Inca  traits,  and  who  may  be  con- 
sidered surviving  remnants  of  the  earlier  population. 

Reference  to  a relief  map  shows  a marked  eastern  exten- 
sion of  the  Bolivian  highlands,  where  we  find  a veritable 
swarm  of  minor  stocks  not  found  elsewhere,  together  with 
a few  straggling  Carib,  Arawak  and  Tupi.  On  their  eastern 
frontiers  are  successively  the  Amazonian  forests  and  the 
Chaco.  In  culture  we  find  here  all  degrees  of  transition. 
The  truly  upland  groups  are  rather  sedentary  and  agricul- 
tural, some  maintaining  temples  and  organized  priesthoods. 
The  Manacicos  (Chiquitan)  and  Canichanan  had  palisaded 
villages  as  in  eastern  Brazil ; the  former  a gentile  organiza- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


248 

tion  and  made  good  pottery,  but  the  latter  were  considered 
cannibals.  Cannibalism,  in  fact,  is  charged  to  a large  num- 
ber of  these  groups. 

In  the  north,  in  what  is  now  Ecuador,  were  the  Canarian, 
who  by  their  high  development  of  gold  work  take  a posi- 
tion intermediate  to  the  Chibchan  center;  but  their  inland 
neighbors,  the  Jivaran,  are  more  like  the  wild  Amazon 
tribes. 

The  chief  characters  pertaining  to  Inca  culture  are : an 
organized  government  based  upon  gentile  groups;  the  su- 
preme authority  resting  in  a council  who  appointed  from  a 
hereditary  group  a war  chief,  or  Inca  (see  p.  156),  agricul- 
ture advanced,  maize,  manioc,  peppers,  potatoes,  fertiliza- 
tion with  guanaco  and  other  manures,  elaborate  irrigation 
systems;  domestication  of  the  llama,  with  the  dog,  guinea 
pig,  birds,  and  monkeys  as  pets;  some  fishing  on  the  coast 
and  hunting  in  the  interior;  spinning  and  weaving  highly 
developed,  cotton  cultivated,  vicuna  wool,  elaborate  designs 
and  rich  dyes;  pottery  carried  to  a high  state  of  develop- 
ment, both  in  form  and  design,  most  unique  form,  the 
whistling  jar;  gold,  silver,  and  copper  mined,  smelted  and 
skilfully  worked;  true  bronze  was  made  by  use  of  tin;  tools 
and  mechanical  appliances  simple,  digging-stick  and  spade 
for  farming,  no  hoe ; no  saws,  drilling  by  rolling  in  hands ; 
architecture  massive,  but  plain  and  severe;  a system  of 
roads;  stone,  and  suspension  bridges;  some  water  travel 
by  balsa ; an  organized  army  and  fortifications ; no  writing, 
but  the  quipu  as  a counting  device ; sun  worship,  an  organ- 
ized priesthood ; a mythical  white  man  founder  called  Vira- 
cocha;  a deluge  myth;  human  sacrifices  rare,  but  offerings 
of  animals  common;  a series  of  gens  gods,  or  huacas;  re- 
ligious orders  of  virgins;  a sacred  shrine  on  Lake  Titicaca; 
conventional  confessions  of  sins  to  a priest;  two  important 
ceremonies,  the  new-fire  with  the  banishment  of  disease  and 
the  sun  festival. 


GUANACO  AREA 


249 


13.  The  Guanaco  Area.  Adjacent  to  the  Bolivian  high- 
lands, the  elevated  lands  of  the  headwaters  of  the  La  Plata 
drainage  ate  known  as  the  Gran  Chaco.  This  is  a rolling, 
wooded,  and,  in  part,  swampy  plain.  Farther  south  it 
merges  into  the  Pampas,  a level,  treeless  prairie.  Still 
farther  south,  we  have  a more  elevated,  scantily  wooded 
country  in  Patagonia.  This  whole  stretch,  together  with 
the  lower  half  of  Chile,  has  one  cultural  center,  though  its 
geographical  diversity  gives  certain  distinctions.  The  typi- 
cal culture  is  found  among  the  Guaycuruan  (Abipones, 
etc.),  Araucanian,  Puelchean,  and  Calchaquian  stocks.31  En- 
gulfed by  them  are  such  tiny  groups  as  the  Lulean  and  Allen- 
tiacan.  On  the  south  we  note  the  Chonoan  of  the  Pacific 
Coast,  who  seem  to  have  resembled  the  Alikulufan,  Onan, 
and  Yahganan  farther  south.  The  eastern  slope  of  Pata- 
gonia was  occupied  by  the  Tsonekan  (Tehuelche).  Such 
of  these  as  occupy  the  coast  line  live  largely  upon  sea 
food. 

The  culture  of  the  typical  group  reminds  one  of  the  North 
American  Plains  area.  The  Spanish  colonists  introduced 
horses  and  cattle  and  very  quickly  the  natives  became  horse 
Indians,  hunting  wild  cattle.32  As  such,  they  were  nomadic 
and  in  the  main  did  not  till  the  soil,  but  in  some  cases  did 
raise  a little  maize,  etc.,  just  as  did  some  of  the  intermediate 
Plains  area  tribes  of  North  America.  All  of  the  central 
group  seem  to  have  woven  some  cloth,  but  developed  work 
in  skins  more  extensively ; the  weapons  were  the  lance,  bola 
and  lasso.  A skin  boat  suggesting  the  bull-boat  of  the  Plain§ 
area  was  used  for  fording  rivers ; warriors  rode  into  battle 
naked;  dead  were  placed  upon  platforms,  but  the  bones 
were  afterward  buried ; smokers  mixed  tobacco  with  wood 
shavings,  as  in  North  America. 

In  the  historic  period  the  natives  of  this  area  developed 
an  intense  horse  culture.  In  many  respects  this  complex 
was  like  the  horse  culture  of  the  North  American  plains, 


250 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


because  it  was  .acquired  from  the  same  foreign  source.  Yet 
we  find  in  the  guanaco  area  several  new  features,  as  the 
bola,  the  lasso,  and  the  toe-stirrup.  These  highly  original 
traits  of  the  horse  complex  are  found  among  all  the  typical 
tribes  enumerated  above,  making  it  clear  that  even  though 
they  were  original  inventions,  they  must  have  been  in  their 
present  form  diffused  from  one  center  along  with  the  horse. 
Habitations  vary  a great  deal,  but  still  are  simple  affairs  of 
skin  or  mats  supported  by  a ridge  pole,  in  many  cases  with- 
out smoke  holes.  A common  form  is  a kind  of  skin-covered 
lean-to.  Infants  are  secured  on  a board  or  frame,  as  in 
North  America  (Fig.  io).  Among  the  more  primitive 
tribes  the  men  wear  aprons  and  a robe,  the  latter  giving  way 
to  a cotton  breechcloth  among  the  Araucans.  The  footwear 
consists  of  a kind  of  skin  boot  with  long  trailing  hair  from 
which  we  get  the  name  Patagonia  (duck  feet).  This  boot 
has  an  open  toe  so  that  the  toe  stirrup  can  be  used.  Yet  the 
prevailing  tendency  of  the  area  as  a whole  was  to  go  bare- 
foot. 

As  we  go  south  in  the  area,  the  culture  becomes  more 
primitive  until  at  last  we  reach  the  Fuegians,  who  are  a 
seashore  people.  Still  they  have  much  in  common  with  the 
horse-using  tribes  of  the  mainland  and  are  often  taken  as 
the  surviving  remnant  of  the  older  population  in  the  area. 
It  is  clear  that  in  the  period  of  horse  culture  the  Araucan, 
Puelchean,  Guaycuruan,  and  Calchaquian  tribes  were  the 
most  strongly  developed.  The  former  had  a kind  of  con- 
federacy based  upon  the  family  group  and  had  the  dual 
peace  and  war -chiefs  observed  in  the  area  of  higher  culture; 
great  value  was  placed  upon  oratory.  They  practised  some 
agriculture  and  weaving.  Shamanism  was  not  well  organ- 
ized, but  each  local  group  had  at  least  one  such  official.  Eye- 
brows and  face  hair  were  plucked  out,  but  the  lip  plug  of 
the  Brazilian  tribes  was  not  worn.  The  Abipones,  at  least, 
were  composed  of  social  castes  and  had  four  gentile  groups 


AMAZON  AREA  251 

placed  in  the  four  directions,  reminding  us  of  North  Ameri- 
can cultures. 

The  Araucans  were  clearly  intermediate  to  the  Inca  cen- 
ter, as  indicated  by  the  large  use  of  chicha,  tendency  toward 
agriculture,  the  domestication  of  sheep  and  the  wearing  of 
wool  in  later  times,  great  developments  of  animal  and  human 
sacrifices  with  features  closely  paralleling  those  of  the  north. 

The  Fuegians  and  other  stocks  skirting  the  western  and 
southern  coast  were  not  horse  Indians,  but  developed  the 
use  of  canoes;  built  fires  in  them  upon  clay  hearths;  went 
almost  nude  even  in  winter;  lean-to  shelters;  bola  not 
used  but  the  bow  and  spear;  water-tight  baskets;  iron 
pyrites  used  for  fire-making ; dogs  trained  for  hunting  and 
even  to  drive  fish  by  swimming.  Some  early  accounts  credit 
the  Chonoans  with  weaving  blankets  from  dog  hair,  remind- 
ing us  of  the  Salish  stock  of  the  northern  continent. 

When  we  turn  to  the  north  and  east,  we  again  meet  the 
complex  condition  of  the  Bolivian  highlands,  for  the  Chaco 
is  continuous  with  it.  Here  is  the  home  of  many  stocks  and 
representatives  of  others  widely  distributed.33  In  the  main, 
the  culture  of  these  people  is  intermediate  to  that  of  the  great 
Brazilian  area,  since  we  find  the  lip  plug  now  and  then,  urn 
burial,  the  short  wooden  club,  dug-out  canoe,  etc.  The  Char- 
rua  cut  off  fingers  when  in  mourning,  as  is  done  in  some 
parts  of  North  America. 

14.  Amazon  Area . Our  discussion  so  far  has  disposed  of 
all  the  continent  except  the  Amazon-Orinoco  drainage.  We 
see  from  a map  that  this  drainage  comprises  fully  half  the 
continent.  Turning  to  the  linguistic  map  (Fig.  67),  we 
find  it  dominated  by  four  stocks : Arawak  and  Carib  in  the 
northwest,  Tupi  and  Tapuya  in  the  southeast.  Of  these, 
the  former  pair  is  by  fa**  the  most  widely  distributed,  occu- 
pying the  whole  of  the  Antilles,  the  greater  part  of  Vene- 
zuela, Guiana,  and  northern  Brazil.  It  is  truly  curious  how 
the  numerous  small  stocks  of  the  continent  cluster  around 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


252 

the  very  headwaters  of  the  Orinoco  and  Amazon,  as  if  some 
of  the  powerful  peoples  of  the  interior  had  invaded  the  area 
from  without,  sweeping  up  the  rivers  and  driving  all  before 
them. 

At  first  glance,  the  four  main  stocks  seem  to  be  promiscu- 
ously scattered  over  the  area,  but  if  we  refer  to  a relief  map 
we  may  note  that  their  distribution  is  coincident  with  eleva- 
tion. The  Arawak  are  a lowland  people,  while  the  Carib 
hold  to  the  higher  lands,  almost  without  exception.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Tapuya  stick  close  to  the  high  tablelands  of 
Brazil,  while  the  Tupi  skirt  the  coast  and  up  into  the  lower 
Amazon.  Therefore,  we  can  with  a fair  degree  of  confi- 
dence lay  down  the  geographical  lines  along  which  the  ex- 
pansion of  these  stocks  took  place,  though  as  to  the  direc- 
tions of  movement  we  cannot  be  sure.  Since  the  Arawak 
are  most  widely  distributed  over  the  Antilles  and  hold  to 
very  low  lands  on  the  continent  where  they  travel  by  rivers, 
on  general  grounds  it  would  seem  likely  that  their  center  of 
dispersion  was  among  the  Islands.  The  Carib,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  most  intensely  distributed  as  an  inland  people, 
from  which  it  has  been  inferred  that  such  of  them  as  took 
to  the  sea  borrowed  this  trait  from  their  Arawak  neighbors. 

Good  studies  of  the  Amazon  tribes  are  rare,  but  it  so 
happens  that  the  few  best  are  so  distributed  as  to  give  us 
the  probable  range  of  traits  throughout.  For  the  Japura 
River,  or  the  northwestern  section  of  the  area,  we  have 
Whiffen’s  34  account  of  the  Witto  and  Boro,  whose  culture, 
together  with  that  of  their  immediate  neighbors,  may  be 
characterized  as  follows : live  by  hunting,  fishing  and  agri- 
culture ; raise  manioc,  tobacco  and  coca,  and  to  a much  less 
extent  maize,  yams,  pumpkins,  peppers,  sugar-cane,  etc.; 
fields  cleared  by  fire  and  dug  up  by  digging-stick,  no  hoe; 
no  tame  animals,  even  dogs  rare;  all  animal  life  eaten,  the 
monkey  being  the  most  nearly  staple;  honey  prized,  some 
tame  bees;  cassava  bread  and  the  “pepper  pot,”  the  chief 


AMAZON  AREA 


253 


Fig.  60.  Distribution  of  Forests  in  South  America.  Zon,  1916.  £ 


254  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

support ; manioc  squeezed  by  rolling  in  a mat ; coca  chewed 
and  mimora  seeds  snuffed;  tobacco  used  for  ceremonial 
drink  only;  curare  and  other  poisons;  blowgun,  throwing 
spear,  bows,  paddle  clubs ; fish  caught  by  poison,  also  with 
hooks,  nets,  traps  and  a tri-dent  spear;  clay  eaten;  canni- 
bals, eat  prisoners;  drum  signalling;  drums  in  pairs,  male 
and  female,  phallic  decorations;  palm  fiber  rolled  on  thigh 
and  hammocks  made;  pottery;  basketry;  no  metal,  little 
stone,  tools  of  wood;  dug-out  canoes,  sprung  into  shape 
when  hot  from  burning  out ; trees  felled  by  holes  and  wedg- 
ing; large  wooden  mortars  for  coca,  tobacco  and  maize; 
habitations  and  fields  shifted  often;  whole  community  in 
one  house,  large  and  square,  four  posts  inside,  thatched,  no 
smoke  hole;  clearing  around  house,  but  all  concealed  in 
jungle  by  maze-like  path;  no  clothing  except  bark  breech- 
cloth  for  men;  combs  of  palm  splints  for  women;  human 
tooth  necklaces ; ornamental  ligatures,  nose  pins,  leg  rattles, 
elaborate  body  paint;  palaver  with  a kind  of  black  drink 
of  tobacco  for  all  important  undertakings  of  war  or  peace; 
the  couvade;  women  not  permitted  to  join  in  serious  cere- 
monies and  not  to  see  boys’  initiations,  not  allowed  to  join 
a cannibal  feast;  personal  names  not  spoken,  even  true 
names  of  mythical  characters  are  whispered;  shamanism 
( paye ) important,  tricks  crude  except  “voice-throwing, ” 
sucking  for  disease,  but  detecting  evil  spirits  the  chief  func- 
tion of  a shaman;  two  serious  harvest  ceremonies,  manioc 
and  pineapple ; boys  cruelly  whipped  in  puberty  ceremonies ; 
ordeals  of  stinging  ants;  many  social  dances;  formal  recital 
of  one’s  grievances  and  a kind  of  riddle  dance;  pan  pipe, 
flute,  castanet,  drum,  gourd  rattle;  each  house  group  ex- 
ogamous,  paternal  descent;  monogamy,  each  house  has  a 
chief,  all  adult  males  the  council;  many  tales  resembling 
European  folklore  and  many  animal  tales  reminding  one  of 
African  lore ; sun  and  moon  venerated ; grave  burial. 

In  Guiana 85  we  find  most  of  these  same  traits,  but  what 


AMAZON  AREA 


255 

seems  to  be  a higher  culture,  since  here  we  have  cotton  cul- 
tivated and  spun  and  the  typical  cassava  squeezer.  The 
Arawak  peoples  also  have  a clan  organization,  maternal  de- 
scent. None  of  the  Guiana  peoples  use  coca,  but  smoke 
tobacco,  cigar  fashion;  the  signal  drum  is  absent.  The 
house  is  similar  in  form  but  smaller,  the  tendency  being  to 
form  villages;  yet  as  we  go  in  from  the  coast  the  transi- 
tion to  the  large  community  house  is  rapid. 

On  the  south  of  the  Amazon  we  find  the  higher  culture 
among  the  Tupi  of  the  Brazilian  coast.  The  new  traits  are: 
smoking  tobacco  in  stone  pipes,  palisaded  villages,  fine  stone 
tools,  urn  burial;  but  otherwise  the  culture  compares  con- 
cisely with  that  of  the  Arawak  and  Carib  of  Guiana.  A few 
small  stocks  have  similar  culture,  but  on  the  interior  pla- 
teaus were  the  Tapuya  (the  Botocudo,  etc.),  who  stand 
somewhat  apart  from  their  neighbors.36  All  reports  con- 
sidered, these  tribes  are  of  low  culture  and  notorious  canni- 
bals. They  were  non-agricultural,  did  not  work  stone  and 
made  little  pretense  of  weaving.  These  negative  traits  and 
a few  positive  ones  tend  to  group  these  people  with  the 
Patagonians.  If  it  is  true  that  the  Tupi  tribes  pushed  out 
from  the  interior  and  dispossessed  the  Tapuya,  we  may  con- 
sider the  earlier  existence  of  a Brazilian  extension  to  the 
great  hunting  areas  in  Argentina  and  Patagonia.  This  is 
made  probable  on  geographical  grounds  as  reference  to  the 
forestry  map  will  suggest.  Anyway,  it  is  clear  that  by  cul- 
ture the  Tupi  belong  with  the  tribes  of  the  Amazon,  while 
the  Tapuya  belong  elsewhere.  With  the  latter  eliminated, 
we  have  great  uniformity  of  culture  throughout.  Yet  the 
Tapuya  share  certain  traits  with  the  South  Amazons,  par- 
ticularly the  large  lip  plug  and,  as  may  be  expected,  a num- 
ber of  their  neighbors  in  the  Matto  Grosso  show  simpler 
forms  of  Amazon  culture. 

Turning  again  to  the  Amazon  area,  including  the  Tupi, 
we  have  remarkable  uniformity  in  the  following  from  north 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


256 

to  south  and  east  to  west:  agriculture;  canoes;  hammocks; 
pottery;  blowgun;  a thatched  post-supported  house  with 
gable ; sword  clubs ; leg  and  arm  binding ; certain  types  of 
feather-work ; human  bone  flutes ; calabash  rattles ; use  of 
honey  and  wax;  cannibalism;  certain  kinds  of  dance  masks; 
couvade;  ceremonial  whipping  of  boys,  and  women  barred 
from  ceremonials.  This  is  truly  a formidable  list.  There 
are  a few  traits  with  partial  distribution ; thus,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Amazon  we  frequently  find  the  lip  plug  in  con- 
trast to  the  north,  though  it  has  a close  analogy  in  Guiana. 
Again,  on  the  south,  urn  burial  is  frequent,  on  the  north, 
grave  burial.  Coca  chewing  and  tobacco  drinking  are  found 
in  the  west,  tobacco  smoking  in  the  east,  pipes  in  Brazil,  and 
cigars  in  Guiana.  Also,  in  eastern  Brazil  we  have  the  pellet 
bow  and  the  palisaded  village.  These,  however,  do  not 
negate  the  unity  of  Amazon  culture. 

Consistent  with  the  wide  distribution  of  these  traits  is  the 
fact  that  we  have  in  reality  an  area  of  canoe  culture.  Con- 
stant river  travel  made  diffusion  easy  and  sufficiently  ac- 
counts for  the  wide  range  of  certain  stocks,  for  the  low  Ama- 
zon Basin  is  a dense  tropical  forest  through  which  the  rivers 
are  the  only  roads  open  to  man.  Consequently,  we  have  a 
well-developed  canoe  complex.  Temporary  canoes  are 
formed  by  scraping  out  the  soft  interior  of  a palm  trunk 
and  expanding  the  sides  by  a brace,  and  true  bark  boats  are 
sometimes  made  by  stripping  the  bark  from  a large  tree, 
precisely  as  the  Iroquois  and  some  other  North  American 
tribes  do,  in  contrast  to  the  fine  birch-covered  canoe  of  their 
Algonkin  neighbors.  But  the  real  boat  is  the  wooden  dug- 
out.  As  to  the  absolute  universality  of  the  canoe  in  the 
Amazon  Basin,  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion,  but 
since  it  is  found  wherever  we  have  good  data,  we  may  expect 
that  it  is  a common  trait  of  all. 

While  more  data  will  certainly  bring  out  greater  tribal 
differences,  yet  it  appears  that  an  unusual  degree  of  uni- 


CULTURE  CENTERS 


257 


formity  is  found  from  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  down 
through  the  entire  Amazon  basin.  As  we  have  noted,  the 
only  lines  of  movement  are  the  rivers,  and  since  these  are 
gathered  into  one  great  system,  we  may  expect  culture  traits 
to  travel  far.  Colonel  Church 37  has  shown  how  certain 
stocks  have  moved  westward  in  the  open  country  along  the 
southern  rim,  detached  groups  starting  down  the  tributaries 
of  the  Amazon  here  and  there,  to  be  dispersed  far  and  wide 
over  its  great  expanse.  One  can  scarcely  escape  the  con- 
viction that  the  peopling  of  the  interior  was  relatively  late 
in  consequence  of  which  the  culture  at  the  center  is  quite 
like  that  upon  the  edges  of  the  basin.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  apparent  remarkable  conservatism  of  the  natives  which 
has  preserved  this  culture  in  spite  of  two  hundred  years  of 
contact  with  civilization,  may  be  due  to  this  culture  being 
the  only  one  that  can  successfully  cope  with  the  forests.38 

15.  The  Antilles.  Finally,  we  have  the  Antillean  insular 
area,  properly  discussed  here  because  it  has  more  affinities 
with  the  Amazon  area  than  with  any  other.  Unfortunately, 
the  native  life  of  the  more  important  islands  was  so  com- 
pletely stamped  out  by  the  Spanish  conquerors  that  a com- 
prehensive view  of  native  culture  is  impossible.  Yet,  from 
the  narratives  of  the  period,  some  significant  data  can  be 
gleaned.39  So  far  as  we  know  the  pre-Columbian  population 
was  first  pure  Arawak,  but  later  over-run  by  Carib.  This  at 
once  connects  the  island  culture  with  the  canoe  culture  of  the 
Amazon-Orinoco  drainage.  Among  the  distinctive  traits 
are  manioc  culture,  raising  of  cotton,  use  of  the  hammock, 
tobacco  taken  as  snuff  and  inhalation,  ceremonial  emetics, 
fish  poisons,  cigars  instead  of  pipes,  all  of  which  remind  one 
of  the  Amazon  area. 

CULTURE  CENTERS 

Such  a resume  as  we  have  just  made  shows  how  the  cul- 
tures of  the  various  social  units  grade  into  each  other.  This 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


258 

inter-gradation  has  often  been  cited  as  an  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  classification,  but  it  is  not  necessarily  so,  for  we 
see  that  this  condition  arises  from  the  existence  of  cul- 
ture centers,  from  which  culture  influences  seem  to  radiate. 
While  it  is  true  that  a culture  area  as  marked  off  on  the 
map  is  in  the  main  an  arbitrary  division,  it  has  within  its 
borders  a culture  center  whose  geographical  position  is  co- 
incident with  the  habitats  of  the  most  typical  tribes.  Between 
two  contiguous  culture  centers  will  be  found  many  other 
social  units  with  intermediate  cultures.  These  relations  are 
so  consistent  that  one  can  almost  predict  the  culture  of  a 
given  unit  when  its  geographical  position  with  respect  to 
the  established  centers  is  known. 

Hence,  the  culture  areas  we  have  designated  serve  to 
differentiate  culture  centers.  This  is  why  we  have  used 
straight  and  angular  boundaries  for  our  maps  instead  of 
more  definite  curved  contours.  These  boundaries,  in  fact, 
are  merely  diagrammatic,  serving  to  indicate  the  loci  of 
the  points  where  culture  stands  half  way  between  that  of 
the  contiguous  centers.  While  it  may  be  difficult  to  em- 
pirically locate  these  points,  our  analysis  of  the  several  areas 
demonstrates  the  correctness  of  the  interpretation  and  makes 
the  approximate  location  of  such  points  practical.  Yet  the 
important  thing  is  not  the  precise  location  of  these  boun- 
daries, but  the  determination  of  the  centers  by  analytic 
methods. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  we  have  taken  a new  point  of 
regard  for  this  chapter,  for  whereas,  in  the  others  we  singled 
out  culture-trait  complexes  and  sought  their  distributions, 
we  now  isolate  social  units  in  order  to  compare  their  indi- 
vidual cultures  as  wholes.  What  precedes  is  merely  intro- 
ductory to  what  is  to  follow.  Already  our  experience  with 
the  social  group  as  a unit  in  the  social  complex,  leads  us  to 
suspect  that  the  mere  social  unit  has  little  distinctive  value 
as  a culture  unit.  Thus,  if  we  turn  to  one  of  these  centers, 


CULTURE  CENTERS 


25 9 


seiect  the  social  unit  appearing  to  have  the  most  typical 
culture,  and  then  move  outward,  we  find  the  culture  changes 
from  one  social  unit  to  the  next,  not  abrupt,  but  gradual 
or  transitional. 

These  facts  suggest  that  progress  with  our  problem  will 
be  accelerated  if  we  recognize  that  the  social  units  are  one 
kind  of  phenomena  and  culture  complexes  another.  We 
are  no  doubt  somewhat  confused  because  our  own  culture 
is  largely  coincident  with  political  grouping  and  nationalism, 
and  so  is  characterized  by  territorial  uniformity.  This  uni- 
formity is  due  to  national  standardizations  of  culture.  If 
we  look  at  the  natives  of  the  New  World  as  a whole,  it 
appears  that  only  when  a close  political  organization,  de- 
velops, as  among  the  Maya,  Nahua  and  Inca,  do  we  find  a 
tendency  toward  territorial  uniformity  in  culture.  It  thus 
appears  that  in  their  original  states,  culture  and  political 
organization  are  independent  phenomena,  but  that  when 
the  latter  reaches  a certain  status,  it  seizes  upon  culture  and 
standardizes  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  by  no  means  clear 
what  causes  led  to  the  curious  gradations  of  culture  in 
regions  occupied  by  many  small  political  units.  Standardi- 
zation is  a deliberate  conscious  process,  but  we  may  suspect 
that  the  causes  underlying  gradation  lie  outside  of  con- 
sciously directed  activities. 

1.  Teit,  1900.  I;  1909.  I;  1906.  I. 

2.  Spinden,  1908.  I. 

3.  Lowie,  1909.  I. 

4.  Lewis,  1906.  I. 

5.  Kroeber,  1904.  I ; 1920.  I. 

6.  Boas,  1906.  I;  Krause,  1885.  I. 

7.  Boas,  1907.  I. 

8.  Dali,  1877.  I- 

9.  Solberg,  1907.  I. 

10.  Boas,  1907.  I. 

11.  Stefansson,  1914.  I. 

12.  Pike,  1892.  I,  chapter  4; 

Grant,  1902.  I. 


13.  Morice,  1890.  I;  1895.  I; 
1906.  I. 

14.  Hearne,  1795.  I. 

15.  Mackenzie,  A.,  1902.  I. 

16.  Hearne,  1795.  I. 

17.  Jones,  W.,  1906.  I;  Skinner, 
1913.  I;  1915.  I;  Hoffman, 
1897.  I. 

18.  Morgan,  1904.  I. 

19.  MacCauley,  1887.  I. 

20.  Swanton,  1911.  I;  Speck, 
1909.  I;  Mooney,  1900.  I. 

21.  Holmes,  1886.  I. 


26o 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


22.  Goddard,  1913.  I;  Hough, 

191S.  I. 

23.  Kroeber,  1917.  I. 

24.  Hough,  1915.  I. 

25.  Russell,  1908.  I. 

26.  Tozzer,  1907.  I. 

27.  Joyce,  1914.  I ; Spinden,  1917. 1. 

28.  Bandelier,  1878.  I;  1879.  I. 

29.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 

30.  Markham,  1910.  I. 

31.  Dobrizhoffer,  1822.  I. 


32.  Church,  1912.  I,  p.  300. 

33.  Nordenskiold,  1918.  I. 

34.  Whiffen,  1915.  I. 

35.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I;  Joyce, 
1916.  I. 

36.  Maximilian,  1820.  I;  Von  den 
Steinen,  1897.  I- 

37.  Church,  1912.  I. 

38.  Bowman,  1916.  I. 

39.  Fewkes,  1902.  I. 


CHAPTER  XV 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  CLASSIFICATION 

In  museums,  the  usual  practice  is  to  class  as  archaeological 
specimens  all  objects  not  definitely  associated  with  an  his- 
toric tribe.  The  somewhat  arbitrary  nature  of  this  group- 
ing is  obvious,  but  it  is  justifiable,  for,  in  the  main,  these 
objects  belong  to  an  earlier  time  stratum  than  those  that 
can  be  definitely  assigned  to  living  peoples.  These  speci- 
mens and  their  distributions  constitute  a large  part  of  the 
data  for  one  division  of  our  subject  and  have  been  subjected 
to  precisely  the  same  kind  of  classification  as  have  the  culture 
traits  of  the  historic  tribes.  Even  a distribution  map  has 
been  developed  by  Holmes,1  but  the  one  we  give  here  was 
first  used  in  1912  as  a hall  label  for  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History.  It  differs  somewhat  from  the  Holmes 
map,  though,  in  the  main,  the  boundaries  to  the  areas  are 
the  same. 

NORTH  AMERICA 

I.  The  North  Atlantic  Area.  This  area  includes  all  of 
New  England  and  the  Maritime  Provinces  of  Canada  with 
an  indefinite  inland  border  to  the  north  and  west,  and  south 
to  the  Delaware  River.  Its  general  archaeological  char- 
acteristics are:  extensive  shell  deposits  on  the  coast;  the 
dead  interred  in  a flexed  position  and  usually  without  accom- 
panying objects;  the  absence  of  mounds  and  similar  earth- 
works; crude  pottery,  with  pointed  bottoms  (Fig.  25)  and 
rudely  stamped  decorations;  the  grooved  ax  and  long 
cylindrical  stone  pestle ; extensive  steatite  quarries  and  ves- 

261 


~T~\ 


262 


JHE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  61.  Archeological  Areas 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  263 

sels  of  the  same  material;  and,  finally,  great  numbers  of 
rock-shelters. 

A detailed  view  of  the  area,  however,  reveals  at  least 
two  subdivisions:  a southern  including  the  territory  from 
the  Delaware  River  to  the  Maine-New  Hampshire  boundary, 
and  a northern  from  that  point  onward  to  Newfoundland.2 


Fig.  62.  Types  of  Stone  Implements  from  the  North  Atlantic  Area: 
the  grooved  ax;  the  rounded  celt;  the  plummet;  the  gouge;  the  bayonet- 
shaped  point;  and  the  long  pestle 


The  typical  culture  lies  in  the  southern  sub-area,  center- 
ing in  New  Jersey.  In  this  area  village  sites  with  cache 
pits  for  storage  are  numerous  and  often  enclosed  by  traces 
of  small  defensive  works.  Shell-heaps  are  small  and  rela- 
tively barren  of  specimens.  Objects  made  of  stone  are 
abundant  and  varied,  and  show  good  workmanship;  the 
forms  include  the  grooved  ax,  rounded  celt,  pestles,  and 
problematical  forms,3  as  banner  stones,  gorgets,  etc.  One 
noteworthy  object  is  the  carved  stone  human  head,  found 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


264 

in  New  Jersey.  All  these  traits  are  found  with  much  less 
intensity  east  of  the  Hudson  where  the  plummet,  gouge  and 
adze  appear.  In  the  Hudson  Valley  proper  we  find  some  in- 
trusive Iroquoian  pottery  forms.  Finally,  we  have  in  this 
region  a large  number  of  rock-shelters. 

The  northern  half  of  the  area,  including  Maine,  Gaspe, 
and  the  Maritime  Provinces  differs  from  the  preceding  in 
the  relative  scarcity  of  village  sites  and  in  the  fact  that 
when  such  sites  are  found  they  lack  cache  pits  and  are  with- 
out defensive  works,  particularly  east  of  the  Penobscot. 
Shell-heaps  are,  on  the  contrary,  large  and  numerous,  con- 
taining a larger  proportion  of  objects  than  those  of  the 
southern  area,  their  numbers  increasing  as  we  go  north  and 
east.  The  same  ratio  holds  for  objects  found  in  graves. 
Pottery,  too,  shows  a change  in  form  as  we  go  eastward, 
the  bottom  rounded  and  with  outcurved  lip,  while  stamped 
designs  increase.  The  grooved  ax,  pestle,  and  problematical 
forms  are  replaced  by  the  angular  celt,  gouge  and  plummet. 
A somewhat  divergent  group  of  finds  are  those  with  the  so- 
called  “red-paint”  burials,4  confined  to  the  lower  Penobscot 
Valley.  Here  stone  objects  only  (celts,  gouges,  adzes  and 
bayonet-shaped  slate  points)  and  masses  of  red  ocher  are 
found  with  certain  burials. 

In  addition  to  these  geographical  segregations  of  arti- 
facts, some  advance  has  been  made  in  the  chronological 
analysis  of  the  area.  Thus,  in  the  northern  part,  the  objects 
found  in  shell-heaps  seem  to  differ  from  those  found  in 
certain  types  of  graves,  particularly  the  “red-paint”  burials 
just  noted,  suggesting  that  we  have  here  the  remains  of  at 
least  two  cultures,  though  their  time  relations  remain  in 
doubt.  Likewise,  the  claim  has  been  made  that  the  rock- 
shelters  of  the  south  show  some  evidences  of  stratification 
in  that  the  lower  levels  contained  no  pottery.5  This  con- 
clusion is,  however,  far  from  final.  Lastly,  mention  should 
be  made  of  certain  evidences  of  an  earlier  culture  in  New 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  265 

Jersey.6  Yet,  it  must  be  admitted  that  these  are  little  more 
than  hints  of  possible  sequence  of  cultures  and  that,  on  the 
whole,  the  archaeological  artifacts  so  far  brought  to  light 
stand  as  the  exponents  of  one  culture,  though  spanning  a 
considerable  time  interval. 

2.  South  Atlantic  Area.  As  indicated  on  the  map,  this 
area  includes  the  South  Atlantic  coast  plane  and  Florida. 
Shell-heaps  are  even  more  abundant  than  in  the  North  At- 
lantic area  and  in  Florida  attain  astonishing  proportions. 
Large  domiciliary  mounds  and  low  burial  mounds  are  also 
numerous  along  the  coast  and  rivers,  particularly  the  St. 
Johns  in  Florida.  The  area,  as  a whole,  may  be  divided 
into  three  districts : Georgia  and  northward,  west  Florida 
on  the  mainland,  and  peninsular  Florida;  yet,  the  culture 
center  seems  to  be  in  coastal  and  central  Georgia.  Several 
distinct  forms  of  burial  have  been  noted,  extended  (the 
body  at  full  length,  as  is  our  custom),  flexed  (legs  drawn 
up  against  the  body),  bone  burial  (body  exposed  until  flesh 
decays,  when  bones  are  interred),  and  cremation.  Urn 
burial  is  also  frequent  here,  a trait  widely  distributed  in 
South  America.  Again,  whereas  in  the  North  Atlantic  area 
objects  of  any  kind  are  seldom  found  in  graves,  they  are 
here  numerous,  particularly  small  pottery  figures.  Some 
attempts  to  work  gold  and  copper  were  made.  In  contrast 
to  the  preceding  area,  very  few  grooved  axes  occur,  as  is 
the  case  in  the  Antilles  to  the  south,  and  the  celt  forms  of 
the  area  are  also  said  to  suggest  those  of  these  islands. 
Occasionally,  a kind  of  perforated  ax  is  found  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  South  America.  Stone-tempered  pot- 
tery is  abundant,  but  limited  in  type,  and  though  without 
color  decoration  is  ornately  treated  with  stamped  and  incised 
designs.  Clay  pipes  are  of  angular  trumpet  shapes  with 
bowls  expanded  into  human  or  animal  heads.  In  contrast 
to  the  North  Atlantic  area  we  find  many  objects  made  of 
shell,  in  particular  a trimmed  and  perforated  conch  sug- 


266 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


gesting  its  use  as  a hoe.  Among  other  features  are  finely 
carved  stone  bowls  and  curious  stone  plates,  or  disks.7 

The  remains  from  west  Florida  stand  somewhat  apart 
from  the  typical  culture,  as  outlined  above.  Here  crema- 
tion is  rare,  but  with  the  urn  burial,  sometimes  occurs. 
Large  deposits  of  pots  are  often  found  with  the  burials, 
the  forms  in  some  cases  suggesting  a distinct  type  of  mortu- 
ary ware.  In  common  with  burials  on  the  peninsula,  the 
accompanying  pots  were  almost  invariably  perforated 
through  the  bottom,  or  “killed.”  But  in  addition  to  this 
mortuary  pottery  there  is  great  variety  of  ornamental  and 
useful  vessels.  The  forms  suggest  both  those  of  Area  4 and 
the  types  found  in  Georgia  (Figs.  23  and  24).  Tobacco 
pipes  are  heavy  and  angular.  All  these  differences  are, 
however,  in  keeping  with  the  marginal  culture  position  of  ! 
west  Florida. 

The  peninsula  also  presents  marginal  peculiarities.  Its 
distinctions  lie  in  the  enormous  shell-heaps  and  a highly  | 
developed  type  of  ready-made  mortuary  pottery,  bizarre  in 
form,  with  the  perforation  made  previous  to  baking;  also 
mortuary  pottery  arrow  points.  Again,  there  are  sugges- 
tions of  cannibalism  on  the  St.  Johns  and  of  pile-villages 
in  the  south,  features  prominent  on  the  adjacent  coast  of 
South  America. 

3.  The  Iroquoian  Area . Adjacent  to,  and  in  a sense 
between,  the  North  and  South  Atlantic  areas,  is  an  inland 
elevated  region  centering  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
This  was  the  range  of  tribes  speaking  Iroquoian  languages 
and  it  is  from  the  immediate  ancestors  of  these  tribes  that 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  our  museum  collections  come. 

Iroquoian  villages  were  characterized  by  defensive  walls  j 
of  circumvallation,  their  burials  by  large  ossuaries,  and  ; 
their  stone- work  by  lack  of  variety.  A peculiar  celt  and 
adze  of  rectangular  cross-section  are  found  to  the  exclusion  ; 
of  the  grooved  ax  and  gouge.  In  the  southern  half  of  the  i 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  267 

area  a chipped  celt  is  typical.  The  triangular  arrow  point  is 
abundant  and  the  long  stone  pestle  inconspicuous.  Yet  the 
distinguishing  feature  of  Iroquoian  archaeology  is  a highly 
unique  form  of  pottery  (Fig.  25).  It  is  well  made,  with 
globular  body,  constricted  neck,  and  overhanging  or  flaring 
collar,  bearing  rectilinear  incised  decorations.  The  char- 
acteristic form  prevails  in  the  east  and  south  of  the  area ; in 


Fig.  63.  Distinguishing  Iroquoian  Types:  the  Hat  celt;  triangular 
arrow-heads ; and  trumpet-shaped  pottery  pipes 


the  western  part  the  vessel  is  somewhat  squat  with  short 
neck  turned  outward  into  a notched  rim.  The  typical  pot- 
tery pipe  is  trumpet-shaped,  slightly  bent,  with  the  bowls 
representing  miniature  pots,  animals,  etc.  Finally,  note 
should  be  made  of  the  richness  and  variety  in  objects  made 
of  bone  and  antler.8 

This  older  Iroquoian  culture  seems  to  overlie  one  (or 
more)  of  different  form,  now  believed  to  be  Algonquian.9 


268 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


This  would  appear  to  center  to  the  southeast  of  Lake 
Ontario — perhaps  only  because  that  region  is  best  known 
to  us.  It  includes  the  grooved  ax,  gouge,  long  stone  pestle, 
banner  stones  and  other  problematical  forms,  all  having 
analogies  elsewhere,  more  particularly  in  New  England. 
Separated  from  these,  perhaps,  but  occurring  in  the  same 
region  are  a series  of  slate  objects — bayonet-shaped  points, 
barbed  points  with  notched  tangs,  etc. — presenting  analogies 
to  objects  in  the  North  Atlantic  area  and  in  particular  to 
the  “red-paint”  culture  of  the  Penobscot. 

4.  The  Mississippi- Ohio  Area.  Perhaps  the  most  striking 
feature  here  is  mound  building.  Although  in  the  popular 
mind  mounds  are  associated  with  the  state  of  Ohio,  they 
are  very  numerous  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  River  and  on 
do  wo  the  Mississippi,  as  shown  by  the  distribution  map  of 
Thomas.10  Some  of  the  most  striking  structures  are  the 
pyramidal  Cahokia  mound  in  Madison  County,  Illinois; 
Etowah  mound,  Forsyth  County,  Georgia;  Grave  Creek 
mound,  Marshall  County,  West  Virginia,  the  largest  conical 
mound  known;  Fort  Ancient  and  the  Serpent  mound  of 
Ohio.  Effigy  mounds  are  rare,  this  type  being  characteristic 
of  an  adjoining  area.  The  whole  of  the  mound-building 
culture  in  the  Ohio  Valley  had  vanished  before  the  period  of 
discovery,  but  farther  south  there  are  historical  and  other 
evidences  that  it  still  survived.11 

Pottery  is  also  distinctive.  Here  we  find  fine  bottle- 
shaped vases  and  many  life  forms,  including  human  figures. 
Color  is  used  in  decoration,  especially  in  Arkansas.  The 
center  of  the  ceramic  art  may  be  roughly  defined  by  a circle 
inscribed  about  Memphis,  intersecting  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
We  have  already  noted  that  other  artifacts  tended  to  center 
in  this  region,  so  that  we  have  a true  culture  center  here. 
As  one  goes  north  into  Ohio,  the  pottery  becomes  cruder 
and  color  disappears. 

Of  stone  objects,  we  may  note  the  fine  discoidal  stones 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  269 

south  of  the  Ohio.  Also  very  large  stone  pipes  in  animal  and 
human  forms.  In  the  middle  of  the  area  the  grooved  ax  is 
not  uncommon  and  we  find  some  very  fine  flaked  objects. 
Shell  objects  are  numerous;  particularly  striking  are  the 
engraved  gorgets  and  the  so-called  hair  pins.  The  margin 
of  the  Gulf  Coast  and  over  into  Texas  is  one  of  simpler 
archaeological  culture,  though  the  absence  of  the  grooved 
ax  and  some  other  forms  suggests  similarities  to  the  South 
Atlantic  area. 

To  enumerate  some  of  the  unique  objects  indexing  the 
cultural  units  of  the  whole  area,  we  have : occasional  trun- 
cated mounds;  stone  box-like  graves;  large  effigy  pipes; 
color  decoration  of  pottery  and  skilful  modeling  of  life 
forms,  particularly  the  human  head;  numerous  gorgets  of 
shell  and  stone;  reel-shaped  copper  ornaments;  spool-like 
earplugs;  large  chipped  blades  variously  designated  as 
spades  and  hoes;  unusually  large  caches  of  chipped  blanks 
and  occasional  repousse  copper  plates. 

While  the  true  center  of  the  area  lies,  as  just  defined,  the 
northern  and  southern  extensions  present  some  individu- 
alities. As  noted  at  the  outset,  along  the  Ohio  River,  per- 
haps centering  in  Ohio,  is  a rich  mound  area,  which  has, 
perhaps,  more  earthworks  to  the  square  mile  than  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  However,  this  prominence  may  be  due 
to  excessive  zeal  in  exploration  rather  than  actual  superior- 
ity. Students  of  the  subject  usually  recognize  two  varieties 
of  mound  culture  here : that  known  as  Hopewell,  culminat- 
ing in  the  Scioto  Valley;  and  that  known  as  Fort  Ancient, 
centering  in  the  Miami  drainage.  The  latter  seems  to  reach 
southward  into  Kentucky,12  and  is,  on  the  whole,  more 
extended  and  less  specialized  than  that  of  the  Hopewell 
type,  suggesting  that  what  is  recognized  as  Hopewell  in- 
fluence is  a northern  sub-center  of  the  area  as  a whole.  Fur- 
ther, the  distinctive  traits  of  Hopewell  culture  are  more  like 
those  at  the  center  of  the  area  in  Tennessee  than  are  those 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


270 

of  Fort  Ancient.  While  these  types  as  thus  identified  are 
minutely  localized  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  they  have  been 
shown  to  have  been  contemporaneous  and  so  no  doubt  de- 
velopments from  the  same  influences.  Again,  there  are  indi- 
cations that  the  Fort  Ancient  variant  extends  westward 
across  Indiana  and  Illinois,  as  the  occasional  finding  of 
enclosed  hilltops  resembling  Fort  Ancient,  rarity  of  copper 
ornaments,  etc.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Hopewell  variant 
seems  to  stand  out  as  highly  individualized  in  art  and  the 
use  of  important  materials  such  as  copper,  mica,  shell,  etc.13 

Some  observers  propose  a third  culture  for  Ohio,  embrac- 
ing certain  curious  burials  in  gravel  banks,  seemingly  inde- 
pendent of  mound  structures.  This  type  of  interment  ex- 
tends westward  into  Indiana.  However,  no  definite  estimate 
of  these  observations  can  be  made  until  closer  studies  of 
the  area  as  a whole  are  available.14 

As  remarked  above,  the  southern  portion  of  the  area 
seems  truly  marginal  to  this  and  the  South  Atlantic  area. 

5.  The  Great  Lake  Area.  This  is  also  a mound  area  and 
for  that  reason  may  be  but  a part  of  the  preceding;  yet,  the 
well-developed  copper  industry  south  of  Lake  Superior  and 
the  specialized  type  of  effigy  mound  in  the  same  region  is 
generally  considered  as  sufficient  warrant  for  the  designa- 
tion of  a separate  archaeological  area.  Small  mounds15 
occur  in  most  parts  and  there  is  no  reason  for  believing  them 
historically  independent  of  the  whole  mound  trait  extending 
from  the  Gulf  Coast  northward,  but  the  aboriginal  copper 
workings  previously  referred  to  give  this  outlying  culture 
area  a unique  position.  The  most  distinctive  forms  of  cop- 
per objects  found  here  are  the  socketed  ax,  or  spud,  which 
may  be  interpreted  as  a hafting  adaptation  to  metal.  Some 
of  the  copper  arrow  points  are  notched  like  those  of  stone, 
but  others  have  a socket  similar  to  the  spud.  A few  copper 
axes  duplicating  the  form  of  the  grooved  stone  ax  have 
been  found  here,  and  in  the  area  to  the  south,  but  the  usual 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  271 

form  of  ax  is  a simple  celt-like  blade  without  grooves  or 
socket.  Knives  are  common.  Ornamental  objects  are  not 
so  numerous  as  in  the  preceding  area,  particularly  the  fine 
repousse  work  of  southern  mounds. 

Peculiar  features  in  Michigan  are  the  “garden  beds,” 
ridged  or  furrowed  tracts,  the  use  of  which  is  by  no  means 
obvious.  Of  stone  objects,  the  most  peculiar  are  the  fluted 
ax,  faceted  celt,  and  problematic  forms.  The  latter  include 
banner  stones,  bird  and  saddle-shaped  stones,  etc.,  and  ex- 
tend eastward  into  the  northern  half  of  the  North  Atlantic 
area.  They  are  rarely  found  in  graves  and  seldom  in 
mounds,  and  for  this  reason  have  been  regarded  as  older 
even  than  mound  culture.  Yet  their  distribution  corresponds 
closely  to  the  known  Algonquian  linguistic  area  and  the 
Eastern  Woodland  culture  area,  a fact  that  must  be  con- 
sidered in  estimating  their  chronological  positions.16 
Another  feature  is  the  use  of  catlinite,  a handsome  red 
stone,  for  pipes,  which  though  limited  as  to  sources,  yet 
found  its  way  over  the  entire  area. 

The  archaeology  of  the  Missouri  Valley  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferentiated from  the  center  in  Wisconsin.  Such  remains  as 
have  come  to  light  in  Dakota  are  associated  with  the  cul- 
tures of  the  historic  tribes.  Bone  artifacts  predominate,  re- 
minding one  of  the  great  hunting  area  to  the  north.  This 
analogy  is  further  stimulated  by  the  presence  of  certain 
parallel  forms;  for  example,  the  knife  made  by  inserting 
small  stone  blades  into  the  side  of  a bone  handle,  suggest- 
ing Eskimo  types. 

Farther  south  in  Nebraska  some  recent  excavations  re- 
port evidences  of  older  cultures  whose  people  lived  in  rec- 
tangular pit-houses,  a form  so  far  unique  in  the  area.17 

6.  The  Plains.  The  present  state  of  our  knowledge  indi- 
cates that  the  Plains  is  a barren  area  around  whose  border 
we  find  a fringe  of  artifacts  common  in  the  adjoining  areas. 
Thus,  the  metate  of  Area  7 finds  its  way  into  this  one,  pot- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


2.J2 

tery  of  the  Missouri  type  spreads  somewhat  on  its  eastern 
border,  and  the  stone  club  and  tubular  pipe  of  9 are  also 
found  in  the  west.  Yet,  there  has  been  very  little  field  ex- 
ploration in  the  heart  of  the  area  so  that  its  vacuity  may  be 
more  apparent  than  real.  Such  collections  as  have  been 
made  contain  the  grooved  hammer,  chipped  scrapers, 
points,  and  the  bone  implements  found  among  the  historic 
tribes. 

Among  the  most  striking  features  are  the  great  quarries 
of  quartzite  in  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  Wyoming,18  where 
tracts  many  acres  in  extent  show  deep  and  extensive  diggings 
for  quartzite  nodules.  When  found,  these  were  broken  into 
convenient  blanks  for  transport,  while  the  chips  and  re- 
jected pieces  were  left  behind  where  they  serve  to  mark 
the  site.  In  addition  to  these  localized  works,  we  find  scat- 
tered everywhere  in  the  great  central  reaches  of  the  area, 
circles  and  lines  of  boulders,  with  an  occasional  effigy  in  out- 
line. The  small  circles  are  assumed  to  mark  tipi  sites; 
but  long  lines  of  stones  have  been  noted  whose  use  is  prob- 
lematical, though  in  Montana  the  historic  Indians  claim 
them  as  markers  for  buffalo  pounds.  About  the  only  other 
permanent  evidences  of  man’s  work  are  the  numerous  pic- 
tographs  pecked  into  the  faces  of  rocks  and  ledges.  Though 
not  carefully  studied,  these  seem  to  fall  into  two  types,  one 
of  which  is  quite  modern.  Pottery  is  not  found  in  the  heart 
of  the  area,  but  stone  vessels  of  original  form  are  rather 
numerous.  These  are  often  crude,  suggesting  hollowed-out 
boulders,  though  some  are  dressed  to  the  shape  of  an  egg, 
while  others  are  roughly  pyramidal.  All  these  data  lead  us 
to  suspect  that  a more  systematic  survey  of  the  true  archaeo- 
logical center  of  the  Plains  will  clearly  define  a distinct  type 
of  prehistoric  culture. 

7.  The  Pueblo  Area.  In  the  states  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico  centers  the  richest  archaeological  province  north  of 
old  Mexico.  For  years  ruthless  relic  hunters  have  overrun 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY  273 

it,  turning  over  burial  grounds  and  knocking  down  ruined 
walls  in  their  search  for  marketable  plunder,  without  ex- 
hausting the  supply.  Also  a number  of  distinguished  archae- 
ologists have  spent  the  active  years  of  their  lives  surveying 
groups  of  these  remains,  but  notwithstanding  all  this,  whole 
regions  are  still  unknown.  Thus,  though  some  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  cultural  analysis  of  the  area,  the  greater 
part  of  the  task  remains  unraveled. 

If  we  consider  first  the  general  geography  of  the  country, 
the  mere  topography  seems  to  segregate  the  ruins  into  four 
large  groups:  those  of  the  Rio  Grande  drainage,  the  San 
Juan,  the  Little  Colorado,  and  the  Gila.  These  four  river 
valleys  contain  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  known  sites. 
By  using  these  gross  distinctions  as  the  points  of  departure, 
we  can  the  more  readily  summarize  the  present  state  of  the 
subject. 

The  two  distinguishing  archaeological  characters  here  are 
architecture  and  ceramics.  As  more  attention  has  been 
given  the  latter,  we  may  consider  it  at  once.  In  the 
first  place,  there  is  a kind  of  glazed  decoration  which  char- 
acterizes the  sites  of  the  Rio  Grande  country,  but  which  ex- 
tends westward  into  that  of  the  Little  Colorado.  As  this  is 
territory  occupied  by  the  historic  Pueblo  peoples,  a connec- 
tion between  the  two  has  been  assumed  and,  in  fact,  recently 
proven.19 

Another  easily  distinguishable  type  of  pottery  is  that  fin- 
ished in  white  and  decorated  in  black.  This  black-on-white 
ware  has  for  long  been  considered  one  of  the  oldest  and 
fundamental  Pueblo  types,  chiefly  because  it  is  found  in 
almost  all  parts  of  the  area.  Yet,  its  distribution  does  not 
equal  that  of  corrugated  ware,  that  type  in  which  the  origi- 
nal coils  of  clay  can  be  seen,  which  in  the  Rio  Grande  Val- 
ley, at  least,  has  as  good  claim  to  antiquity  as  the  black-on- 
white.  In  addition,  a number  of  more  recent  and  local 
types  of  pottery  have  been  defined,20  but  the  preceding  are 


274  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

sufficient  to  show  that  we  can  safely  assume  the  fundamental 
unity  of  the  original  Pueblo  cultures. 

Turning  to  architecture  we  note  that  the  surviving  Pueblo 
structures  are  merely  accumulations  of  one-room  houses  and 
that  those  now  occupied  in  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  do  not 
differ  in  essentials  from  those  in  ruins.  Hence,  it  is  clear 
that  a large  portion  of  these  ruined  houses  belong  to  the 
antecedent  culture  of  the  historic  Pueblo  natives,  whose 
traits  have  been  outlined  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  cen- 
ter of  dispersion  for  this  type  seems  to  have  been  in  the  Rio 
Grande  Valley,  from  which  it  spread  outward  in  all  direc- 
tions. To  the  north  and  west,  across  the  headwaters  of  the 
Rio  Grande  and  over  into  the  San  Juan  country,  we  have 
what  is  known  as  the  cliff-dweller  type  of  house.  Just  what 
may  be  the  specific  relations  of  these  to  the  central  type  can- 
not be  determined  from  the  data  at  hand,  but  since  the  basic 
house  plan  seems  to  be  of  the  Pueblo  type,  we  may  safely 
assume  a close  historical  connection.  The  essentials  of  this 
plan  are  a bracket-like  enclosure  of  articulated  rooms  in 
the  open  court  of  which  is  a kiva,  or  ceremonial  chamber.  In 
fact,  the  presence  of  this  kiva  alone,  because  of  its  unique 
form  and  functions,  would  be  sufficient  ground  for  assum- 
ing such  a connection. 

In  the  Little  Colorado  country  and  down  the  Rio  Verde 
toward  its  junction  with  the  Gila,  we  find  again  the  three 
kinds  of  houses  noted  in  the  preceding  localities;  the  cave- 
like dwelling  in  the  rock,  the  true  cliff  house,  and  the  larger 
Pueblo  pile  of  the  open  country.  The  remainder  of  the  Gila 
is  not  so  well  known  but  seems  to  present  some  differences, 
both  in  architecture  and  ceramics.  The  best-known  ruin  is 
that  of  Casas  Grandes,  whose  groundplan  reminds  us  of 
southern  Mexico  rather  than  the  Rio  Grande. 

8.  California.  While  from  the  artifacts  in  collections  this 
area  can  be  separated  into  three  more  or  less  distinct  parts, 
there  is  still  a great  deal  in  common.21  One  of  the  most 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  275 

numerous  artifacts,  and  therefore  the  best  index  of  Cali- 
fornia archaeology,  is  the  stone  mortar,  found  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  state,  in  the  bottoms  and  tops 
of  shell  deposits  and  apparently  in  the  auriferous  gravels. 
Another  equally  distributed,  but  apparently  less  ancient  arti- 
fact, is  the  tubular  stone  pipe.  Bone  awls  and  a number  of 
other  less  striking  artifacts  could  be  added  to  this  list. 

The  recognized  subdivisions  of  the  area  are  the  south- 
western, central  and  northwestern  portions  of  the  state.  The 
former,  centering  in  the  Santa  Barbara  Islands,  is  the  home 
of  the  most  unique  artifacts.  These  are  finely  wrought 
bowls,  boat-shaped  vessels,  baking  slabs,  and  many  proble- 
matic forms,  all  of  steatite;  great  varieties  of  shell  beads 
and  pendants,  also  inlay  shell-work  in  asphaltum;  and  fine 
examples  of  flaked  edge  tools.  Among  the  very  unique 
objects  are  numerous  steatite  carvings  of  the  killer  whale  or 
at  least  a fish  with  an  erect  fin ; perforated  ring-like  stones 
reminding  one  of  African  digging-stick  weights,  and  curious 
shell  hooks  very  much  like  those  from  the  Pacific  Islands. 

In  northwestern  California  is  a relatively  small  area 
which,  though  less  distinctive,  still  presents  unique  features. 
Among  these  are  curious  curved  stone  adze  handles,  a stone 
hammer  with  broad  base  and  flanged  head,  pestles  with 
pointed  handles,  and  flanges  at  their  bases,  and  perforated 
net  sinkers. 

The  artifacts  from  the  great  central  area  are  far  less 
unique,  but  still  we  find  here  a curious  plummet  stone,  very 
rarely,  if  at  all,  met  with  in  the  north  and  the  south.  Some 
slight  evidences  of  intrusion  from  the  Southwestern  area 
are  noted,  particularly  in  inlay  work.  While  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  typical  artifacts  is  quite  uniform,  there  is  the 
suggestion  of  local  divergence  about  the  city  of  Stockton 
where  small  mounds  have  yielded  a few  unusual  objects. 
Shell  mounds  are  numerous  on  the  coast,  particularly  around 
San  Francisco  Bay.  So  far  as  these  have  been  investigated, 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


276 

they  show  essentially  the  same  culture  from  top  to  bottom, 
though  improvements  in  form  and  finish  are  in  evidence.22 
Toward  the  southeast  we  meet  with  some  intrusive  traits 
from  Area  7,  as  pottery  and  the  metate,  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  the  Shoshonean-speaking  peoples. 

In  general,  the  most  striking  feature  of  California  cul- 
ture is  its  unity,  both  geographically  and  chronologically. 
Rather  more  evidences  of  antiquity  have  come  to  hand  for 
this  area  than  elsewhere,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

9.  The  Columbia  Basin.  This  area  comprises  the  greater 
part  of  the  Columbia  drainage,  and  a part  of  the  Frazer 
Valley.  Its  archaeology  has  been  investigated  in  type  locali- 
ties by  Harlan  I.  Smith,23  who  finds  a fairly  uniform  cul- 
ture throughout,  characterized  by  the  prevalence  of  chipped 
points  and  the  rarity  of  those  of  ground  stone;  bone  and 
antler,  digging-stick  handles ; bone  tubes ; arrow-shaft 
smoothers;  hand  hammers;  pestles;  summer  lodge  circles 
of  stones;  and  semi-subterranean  house  pits.  Yet  over  and 
above  this  similarity,  two  centers  can  be  differentiated,  one 
in  the  heart  of  British  Columbia,  the  range  of  the  Thompson 
Indians,  and  the  other  along  the  Columbia  between  the  Wil- 
lamette and  the  Snake  rivers.  The  latter  seems  to  be  the 
seat  of  the  most  highly  developed  culture  characterized  by 
several  unique  artifacts,  the  so-called  ape-head  stone  carv- 
ings, weight  stones  with  suspension  hoops,  carved  clubs,  etc. 
Lewis  24  suggests  that  this  exuberance  of  carving  in  stone  is 
due  to  the  lack  of  suitable  wood,  since  further  down  the 
river  and  along  the  coast,  where  wood  is  available,  we  find 
carving. 

The  Thompson  country  in  British  Columbia  is  not  so 
unique  but  it  is  differentiated  by  the  use  of  nephrite,  some- 
times called  jade,  a special  form  of  stone  scraper,  etc. 

Between  these  two  centers,  particularly  in  the  Yakima 
Valley,  Washington,  is  found  a less  intense  culture  having 
some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  two  flanking  centers. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  277 

10.  North  Pacific  Coast  Area.  Very  little  is  known  of 
the  archaeology  here,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  Puget  Sound, 
where  the  investigations  of  Smith  25  reveal  an  early  his- 
torical connection  with  Area  9.  As  this  locality  is  truly 
marginal  to  the  area,  we  assume  that  the  true  center  lies 
northward,  since  we  find  there  some  evidences  of  a culture 
directly  antecedent  to  that  of  the  historic  tribes. 

11.  The  Arctic  Area.  The  only  noteworthy  archaeo- 
logical work  in  this  area  was  by  Dali 26  and  Jochelson  in  the 
Aleutians,  Solberg27  in  Greenland,  and  Stefansson28  at 
Point  Barrow  and  Franklin  Bay.  Though  relic-bearing  de- 
posits of  considerable  depth  have  been  reported  by  these  ex- 
plorers, their  great  antiquity  has  not  been  established;  and 
while  some  changes  in  culture  have  been  noted,  these  are,  in 
the  main,  but  variants  of  the  historic  Eskimo  culture.  A 
description  of  the  artifacts  is,  therefore,  unnecessary. 

12.  The  Canadian  Area.  By  the  mere  process  of  elimi- 
nation we  have  left  the  whole  interior  of  Canada.  Prac- 
tically no  archaeological  work  has  been  done  here  except  in 
the  southern  border,  where,  as  may  be  anticipated,  the  cul- 
tures are  marginal  to  those  of  the  adjoining  areas.  The  re- 
ports of  missionaries  and  explorers  lead  us  to  suspect  that 
it  is  the  weakest  archaeological  area  on  the  continent. 

13.  Northern  Mexico.  In  turning  to  the  southern  ex- 
tension of  the  continent,  we  approach  a difficult  task.  The 
problem  is  not  only  complex,  but  further  complicated  by 
the  lack  of  definite  knowledge.  We  have  already  sketched 
the  cultures  found  here  by  the  Spanish  invaders,  but  an 
empirical  grouping  of  the  archaeological  artifacts  gathered 
from  this  general  region  introduces  an  unknown  chrono- 
logical factor,  which  may  give  quite  a different  result  from 
our  previous  grouping  by  historical  data.  Holmes 29  pro- 
poses five  archaeological  areas  which  we  designate  as  fol- 
lows: Northern  Mexico,  Central  Mexico,  State  of  Oaxaca, 
Yucatan,  and  Panama.  Northern  Mexico  is  the  area  of 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


278 

which  we  know  least,  so  that  its  demarcation  is  rather  an 
expression  of  ignorance  than  otherwise.  The  best-known 
site  is  Casas  Grandes,  which  has  striking  similarities  to  the 
Pueblo  culture  north  of  the  Rio  Grande,  suggesting  that 
ultimately  we  may  find  this  to  be  an  intermediate  area. 

14.  Central  Mexico.  This  was  the  seat  of  Nahua,  or 
Aztec  culture,  and  has  been  sufficiently  characterized  in  the 
preceding  chapter  and  in  the  section  dealing  with  archi- 
tecture. 

15.  State  of  Oaxaca.  The  most  distinctive  ruins  in  this 
area  are  those  at  Mitla,  supposed  to  have  been  the  center 
of  Zapotec  culture.  While  the  roofs  of  these  buildings  were 
of  the  flat  beam  type  characteristic  of  Areas  19,  13  and  7, 
the  stucco  mosaics  are  of  the  Maya  type,  or  Area  16.  Thus 
the  intermediate  position  of  this  trait  is  clear.  On  the  other 
hand,  Mitla  takes  the  lead  in  stone  masonry  and,  in  fact,  rises 
almost  to  the  level  of  Peru.  Of  particular  interest  is  the 
discovery  of  the  original  quarries,  with  the  half-cut  blocks, 
revealing  all  the  essential  details  of  the  process.  All  this 
stone  cutting  was  with  stone  tools,  as  was  the  case  in  Area 

16.  A unique  architectural  feature  is  a cross-shaped 
tomb.30  The  pottery  is  of  good  quality,  but  frequently  un- 
painted. So  far,  very  little  metal  work  has  been  found 
here.  Of  a somewhat  novel  interest  are  several  striking 
parallels  to  Peruvian  traits.31 

16.  Yucatan.  This  area  covers  the  range  of  Maya  cul- 
ture whose  characteristics  have  been  outlined  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  and  under  the  head  of  architecture.  The 
most  impressive  archaeological  remains  are  the  great  ruined 
cities,  the  best-known  of  which  are  shown  on  the  accom- 
panying map.  The  carved  monuments,  or  stelae,  bear  hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions,  many  of  which  are  dated.  This  char- 
acteristic makes  them  by  far  the  most  important  antiquities 
in  the  New  World,  since  it  is  from  these  alone  that  we  get 
our  safest  idea  of  time  perspective.32 


NORTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  279 

1 7.  Panama.  In  the  classification  of  historic  cultures,  we 
placed  this  geographical  section  with  Colombia,  but  archaeol- 
ogists usually  regard  it  as  distinct.  Yet  no  one  attempts  to 
deny  the  resemblance  of  its  artifacts  to  those  from  the 
Andean  region.  The  individuality  of  the  area  appears  in 
pottery  and  gold  work.  In  fact,  this  is  the  only  part  of  the 
northern  continent  which  to  any  degree  approaches  the  An- 
dean level  in  metal  work.  Gold  was  cast,  hammered  and 
alloyed  with  copper  in  a bewildering  variety  of  forms.33 
Objects  of  copper  only  are  rare,  and  true  examples  of 
bronze  unknown.  As  in  the  Andean  region,  gold  objects 
were  placed  with  the  dead,  and  we  may  infer  that  they  had 
the  same  religious  sacrificial  functions  as  in  Colombia. 

Another  unique  group  of  objects  are  the  ornate  stone 
metates  with  legs,  often  appearing  as  life-like  representa- 
tions of  jaguars.  Stone  tools  and  ornaments  of  excellent 
finish  abound,  particularly  highly  carved  jadeite  celts.34 

The  pottery  is  of  the  tripod  decorated  forms  noted  under 
ceramics.  One  unique  feature  is  that  many  of  these  legs 
are  hollow  and  contain  a ball,  thus  suggesting  bells.  As 
golden  bells  made  on  the  same  principle  are  also  numerous, 
this  bell  concept  becomes  a prominent  trait.  Perhaps  closely 
associated  with  it  are  the  numerous  pottery  whistles. 

18.  The  Antilles . The  leading  problem  in  Antillean 
archaeology  will  always  be  the  continental  affiliations  of  this 
insular  culture.  The  available  data  are  meager  enough  but 
still  permit  of  some  generalizations.  According  to  Fewkes 35 
the  culture  center  of  the  area  was  Porto  Rico  and  Haiti, 
which  is  also  the  approximate  geographical  center.  The 
culture  traits  of  the  historic  tribes  have  been  outlined  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  where  we  saw  that  this  was  also  the 
approximate  center  of  culture  when  Columbus  arrived  upon 
the  scene. 

One  of  the  most  common  objects  in  collections  from  the 
islands  is  a petal-shaped  celt  and  its  distribution  is  an  index 


280  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY  281 


of  the  general  culture  distribution,  for  it  is  most  abundant 
at  the  center  designated  above  and  relatively  less  frequent 
in  the  Bahamas  and  the  Lesser  Antilles.  In  the  latter,  it 
gives  way  to  an  ax  with  lateral  notches  and  sometimes  side 
grooves.  Another  trait  of  general  distribution  is  found  in 
a type  of  pictograph,  closely  resembling  those  of  the  South 
American  mainland,  both  in  essential  style  and  in  juxta- 
position to  waterfalls  and  water  courses.  Likewise,  the 
known  pottery  of  the  whole  insular  area  is  similar. 

Of  special  archaeological  features,  Porto  Rico  offers  a 
fine  series  in  her  mysterious  stone  collars,  numerous  three- 
pointed  stone  figures,  elbow  stones,  and  carved  celts.  Thus, 
in  the  main,  we  are  justified  in  designating  the  Antilles  as 
a distinct  archaeological  area,  belonging  rather  to  South 
America  than  to  the  northern  continent. 

SOUTH  AMERICA 

No  one  has  attempted  a close  classification  of  South  Am- 
erican archaeology  but  certain  suggestions  have  been  made.36 
We  have  prepared  a map  upon  which  are  located  the  areas 
indicated  by  our  present  knowledge.  There  are  six  of  these : 
Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Chile,  Atlantic  Highlands,  and 
Patagonia.  The  interior  of  the  tropical  forest  is  a blank, 
for  if  it  has  any  archaeology,  its  discovery  is  for  the  future. 

19.  Colombia.  In  Colombia  four  culture  centers  have 
been  recognized.  In  the  north  one  centers  about  Antioquia, 
the  home  of  the  Tamahi  and  Nutabi  peoples;  the  next  to 
the  south  about  Cartago  (the  Quimbaya)  ; the  third  at 
Popayan  (the  Coconuco)  ; and  lastly,  in  the  extreme  south, 
the  seat  of  the  Chibcha  empire.  Though  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest  the  latter  was  the  center  of  the  highest  political 
development,  the  leading  culture  was  formerly,  at  least,  at 
Cartago. 

No  ruins  of  buildings  comparable  to  those  of  the  south 
have  been  noted.  Even  the  mound  development  is  feeble. 


282 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


However,  there  is  one  unique  locality  about  San  Augustine 
where  remarkable  monolithic  statues  have  been  found  and 
also  some  mound  structures.  Metal  work  was  praiseworthy, 
especially  at  Cartago.  Skilful  casting  by  the  cire  perdue 
method  has  been  noted,  and  good  examples  of  soldering, 
plating,  and  even  gilding  have  been  collected.  Different 
colored  alloys  were  produced  with  gold,  silver,  and  copper. 

Cartago  was  also  the  center  of  pottery  development,  but 
on  the  whole,  Colombia  pottery  is  inferior.  Some  painted 
decorations  are  in  geometric  patterns,  but  bold  incised  de- 
signs are  more  frequent.  One  striking  feature  is  the 
tendency  toward  effigy  vessels  and  vases  bearing  frogs, 
monkeys,  etc.,  in  relief,  peeping  over  the  brims.  Spindle 
whorls  of  pottery,  highly  engraved,  are  frequent,  but  quite 
distinctive  are  the  cylindrical  pottery  stamps  for  printing 
cloth  and  body  painting.  This  may  be  considered  as  an 
independent  invention  of  roller  printing. 

Emerald  mines  were  worked.  Colombian  collections  con- 
tain numbers  of  stone  tools,  particularly  ax  blades,  some  of 
which  are  grooved. 

Very  little  is  known  of  Venezuela,  but  the  highland  por- 
tion seems  to  have  had  culture  affinities  with  Colombia. 
Unusually  large  stone  mortars  have  been  reported;  ax 
blades  are  rectangular  and  triangular;  pottery  is  rude,  but 
shows  incised  decorations  and  the  relief  figures  of  Colom- 
bia ; bone  points  and  implements  are  abundant.  Only  a few 
mounds  have  been  reported. 

20.  Ecuador.  While  Ecuador  has  some  striking  individ- 
ualities, it  nevertheless  does  show  similarities  to  Peru  on  the 
one  hand  and  to  Colombia  on  the  other.  Historically,  it  is 
considered  that  a certain  unity  prevailed  over  the  whole 
territory  between  the  present  boundary  of  Peru  in  the  south 
and  the  River  Ancasmayu  on  the  north.  This  province  is 
usually  designated  as  the  empire  of  Quito.  The  archaeology 
of  this  region  is  not  very  well  known,  but  there  seems  to  be 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  283 

considerable  variety  and  curious  local  developments.  Two 
general  subdivisions  are  recognized,  the  interior  highland 
culture  and  that  of  the  coast  plain.  Of  the  latter,  Manabi 
is  the  most  peculiar,  with  its  stone  chairs,  carved  slabs,  pil- 
lars, and  stone  buildings ; traits  not  found  elsewhere.37 

Burial  mounds  are  frequent  on  the  coast  and  extend  north- 
ward from  Quito.  Gold  work  is  not  so  strongly  developed 
as  elsewhere,  but  there  is  a special  development  in  the  art 
of  overlaying  with  gold  leaf.  This,  as  well  as  pottery,  is 
more  highly  developed  on  the  coast.  A great  variety  of 
stone  and  copper  club  heads  and  axes  is  to  be  found  in  the 
highlands,  but  they  are  not  conspicuous  on  the  coast. 

21.  Peru.  Under  another  head  we  have  outlined  the  cul- 

ture of  this  area,  hence  we  may  merely  note  the  chronological 
and  local  differences.38  Three  formative  culture  centers 
may  be  recognized:  Nasca,  Trujillo  and  Tiahuanaco. 

These  individualities,  according  to  Uhle,39  seem  to  have 
grown  up  from  a more  homogeneous  state  which  formed  the 
framework  of  Peruvian  culture.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  the 
investigations  that  have  been  made,  it  cannot  be  clearly  per- 
ceived which  of  these  three  centers  is  the  oldest,  in  fact,  the 
data  are  more  consistent  with  the  view  that  they  were  in 
the  main  contemporaneous  and  mutually  reactive. 

When  the  Inca  come  into  control  of  the  whole  area,  cer- 
tain tendencies  to  uniformity  in  art  and  technology  are 
apparent,  no  doubt  due  to  the  shifting  of  population,  the 
improved  means  of  communication,  and  the  direct  legisla- 
tion of  the  Inca  government. 

22.  Chile.  This  region  is  frequently  included  in  that  of 
Peru,  but  the  older  underlying  culture  seems  to  have  dif- 
fered from  that  of  the  Inca  period.  There  are  solid  his- 
torical grounds  for  considering  the  southern  extension  of 
Inca  culture  to  be  recent  and  so  overlying  the  native  cul- 
tures. In  fact,  the  shell  mounds  of  the  long  coast  line 
indicate  three  periods  of  occupation.  In  the  first  of  these, 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


284 

there  were  long-headed  people  with  a rude  culture,  though 
they  made  some  pottery.  Later,  came  a round-headed  peo- 
ple of  much  higher  culture,  somewhat  like  the  older  Peru- 
vians. Later  still,  the  Inca  overran  this  area  as  far  south 
as  the  Maule  River.  The  pottery  of  the  earlier  periods  is 
for  the  most  part  undecorated,  metal  work  is  not  frequent, 
but  usually  of  Inca  patterns.  On  the  whole,  the  interior 
elevated  portions  of  Chile  seem  to  have  sheltered  a higher 
culture  than  the  coast. 

In  the  north,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  area  reaches  out 
through  Bolivia  into  Argentine,  where  centers  the  unique 
Calchaqui,  or  Diaguite  culture.40  Aside  from  its  own 
peculiar  problems,  this  culture  is  interesting  in  that  it,  like 
the  Pueblo  culture  of  the  United  States,  is  an  extreme  out- 
post of  the  New  World  highland  culture.  There  are  even 
some  curious  correspondences  between  the  two,  the  sig- 
nificance of  which  is  not  clear. 

Urn  burial  so  widely  diffused  in  the  Atlantic  Highland 
area  (23)  turns  up  here  in  infant  burial  only.  Thus,  one 
of  the  most  puzzling  peculiarities  of  the  Calchaqui  culture 
is  the  great  number  of  large  decorated  urns  containing  the 
remains  of  very  young  infants.  Adult  urn  burial  is  found 
just  north  and  east  of  Calchaqui  in  the  edge  of  the  Atlantic 
Highland  area.  The  designs  have  some  vague  resemblances 
to  Marajo  urns.  Incidentally,  we  may  note  that  urn  burial 
of  any  kind  is  practically  unknown  in  the  Andean  region. 
Other  kinds  of  pottery  are  common  in  Calchaqui  sites,  some 
of  which  resemble  the  Nasca  ware.  The  grooved  ax  also 
occurs  here  as  in  Ecuador.  There  are  quite  a number  of 
original  and  unique  articles,  as  the  “knuckle-duster,”  a kind 
of  hand  dagger,  and  cup-shaped  bells.41 

23.  The  Atlantic  Highlands.  In  this  area  we  have  in- 
cluded the  whole  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  to  the 
La  Plata,  and  a considerable  portion  of  the  interior.  There 
are  at  least  two  general  characteristics,  that  of  urn  burial 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  285 

throughout  and,  on  the  coast,  extensive  shell  mounds.  Most 
of  these  shell  deposits  are  of  human  origin.  On  the  north 
coast  they  contain  objects  suggesting  the  culture  of  the 
Antilles,42  but  from  near  the  Amazon  down,  they  seem  to 
have  a character  of  their  own.  That  they  contain  pottery 
is  not  certain,  the  indications  being  that  where  found  pot- 
tery is  intrusive  from  the  surface  and  later  urn  burials. 
Highly  finished  stone  axes  and  other  objects  are  common, 
and  among  the  bones  no  suggestions  of  cannibalism  are  seen. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Catharina,  Brazil,  there  are  finely 
wrought  stone  mortars  in  animal  forms,  and  unique  small 
point-like  objects.43 

Outside  the  shell  mounds  and  inland,  the  most  striking 
objects  come  from  Marajo  Island  and  the  territory  sur- 
rounding the  lower  Amazon.  A special  feature  is  the  en- 
graved decoration  reinforced  with  color,  and  a very  unique 
object  is  the  tanga,  or  pottery  fig  leaf. 

Urn  burial  is  highly  characteristic  of  the  Amazon  Basin 
and  extends  far  to  the  south,  though  its  intensity  declines 
as  we  leave  the  Amazon  in  either  direction.  Taking  the 
artifacts  as  a whole,  two  rather  clearly  marked  subdivisions 
of  the  area  are  suggested,  the  one  centering  around  Marajo 
and  the  other  in  southern  Brazil,  but  taken  in  its  entirety, 
it  is  essentially  an  area  of  simple  culture  in  contrast  to  those 
we  have  just  considered. 

24.  Patagonia.  In  this  area  is  included  all  the  territory 
east  of  the  Andes  from  Cape  Horn  up  into  the  Pampas  and 
the  lower  insular  part  of  Chile.  Its  archaeology  is  very 
simple  and  suggests  that  it  has  always  been  the  home  of  a 
simple  hunting  and  fisher  folk.  The  shell  mounds  continue 
along  the  coast  on  both  sides,  so  that  we  have  a continuous 
chain  from  the  Orinoco  around  to  Peru.  No  doubt  the 
systematic  investigation  of  these  in  the  future  will  yield 
results  of  great  value. 

Considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  the  archaeology 


286 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


of  this  region,  both  of  the  coast  and  the  interior,  and  cer- 
tain claims  to  antiquity  made  which  we  shall  consider  else- 
where. Two  types  of  implements  have  been  distinguished, 
an  older  chipped  type  and  later  polished  implements,  but 
this  chronological  relation  is  not  certain.  Some  rude  pot- 
tery has  been  found  in  parts  of  the  area,  particularly  on 
the  east  coast,  which  has  some  resemblance  to  the  pottery 
of  eastern  United  States.  Both  the  stone  work  and  pottery 
of  the  Andean  margin  is  of  a higher  order  than  in  the  east. 
One  of  the  distinguishing  objects  found  throughout  the 


open  plains  ot  the  area  is  th 
facts  of  an  index  value  are 
and  the  duck-bill  scraper.44 

1.  Holmes,  1914.  I, 

2.  Dixon,  1914.  I;  Skinner, 
1909.  I ; Abbott,  1877.  I. 

3.  Moorehead,  1917.  I. 

4.  Moorehead,  1913.  I ; 1916.  I. 

5.  Harrington,  1909.  I;  Schra- 
bisch,  1909.  I. 

6.  Volk,  1911.  I;  Spier,  1918.  I. 

7.  Holmes,  1903.  I ; Jones,  C.  C., 

1873.  I. 

8.  Parker,  1916.  II. 

9.  Wintemberg,  1901.  I,  p.  38. 

10.  Thomas,  1889.  I. 

11.  Thomas,  1889.  I. 

12.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1911.  I;  Shet- 
rone,  1920,  I. 

13.  Moorehead,  1910.  I;  Shetrone, 
1918.  I. 

14.  Moorehead,  1910.  I;  Shetrone, 
1918.  I. 

15.  Radin,  1911.  I. 

16.  Moorehead-,  1917.  I. 

17.  Sterns,  1915.  I. 

18.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1910.  I. 

19.  Nelson,  N.  C.,  1916.  I. 

20.  Kidder,  1915.  I;  Nelson,  N.  G, 


e stone  bola.  I wo  other  arti- 
the  plano-convex  flaked  knife 

1916.  I;  Kidder,  M.  A.  and 
A.  V.,  1917.  I. 

21.  Kroeber,  1909.  I. 

22.  Nelson,  N.  C.,  1909.  I. 

23.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1910.  II. 

24.  Lewis,  1906.  I. 

25.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1907.  I. 

26.  Dali,  1877.  I. 

27.  Solberg,  1907.  I. 

28.  Stefansson,  1914.  I. 

29.  Holmes,  1914.  I. 

30.  Saville,  1909.  I. 

31.  Joyce,  1914.  I. 

32.  Morley,  1915.  I;  1920.  I. 

33.  MacCurdy,  1911.  I. 

34.  Hartman,  1901.  I. 

35.  Fewkes,  1902.  I;  1916.  I. 

36.  Holmes,  1914.  I;  Joyce,  1912. 1. 

37.  Saville,  1907.  I;  1910.  I. 

38.  Squier,  1877.  I. 

39.  Uhle  and  Stiibel,  1892.  I. 

40.  Boman,  1908.  I. 

41.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 

42.  Im  Thurn,  1883.  I. 

43.  Joyce,  1912.  I,  p.  260. 

44.  Hrdlicka,  1912.  I,  p.  147- 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CHRONOLOGY  OF  CULTURES 

In  the  course  of  these  discussions  it  may  have  occurred  to 
the  reader  that  our  culture  classification  is  purely  extensive, 
or  horizontal,  and  ignores  the  chronological,  or  vertical 
relation.  It  is  this  chronological  relation  that  underlies  the 
great  classifications  in  Old  World  archaeology,  especially 
that  triumph  of  synthetic  research  in  Europe,  the  determi- 
nations of  the  sequential  relations  among  the  several  epochs 
in  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  cultures.  In  this  book  we  have 
so  far  been  concerned  with  the  distribution  of  trait-com- 
plexes rather  than  with  their  chronological  sequence.  Such 
a comprehension  of  the  gross  culture  geography  of  the  New 
World  is  logically  necessary  to  its  analytic  treatment,  but  it 
is,  after  all,  merely  preliminary.  It  so  far  forms  the  chief 
content  of  our  subject  for  the  very  good  reason  that  anthro- 
pology is  a new  science  and  as  such  has  had  barely  more 
than  time  to  get  even  once  around  the  distribution  prob- 
lem; but  now  that  such  a general  view  has  been  attained, 
interest  promises  to  center  upon  the  time  relations  between 
the  respective  types  of  culture. 

Indeed  a time  perspective,  or  chronology,  is  just  as  essen- 
tial to  the  comprehension  of  culture  and  man  as  is  the  third 
dimension  to  space.  Geology,  for  example,  did  not  become 
a science  until  by  empirical  methods  it  established  a time- 
sequence  of  periods  and  these  periods  are  in  turn  of  equal 
importance  to  zoology.  In  like  manner,  the  future  status 
of  anthropology  depends  upon  the  establishment  of  a chron- 
ology for  man  and  his  culture,  based  upon  objective  veri- 
fiable data.  Progress  in  this  direction  will  go  hand  in  hand 

287 


288 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


with  the  development  of  techniques  adequate  to  the  condi- 
tions of  the  problem.  So  far  there  are  at  least  three  classes 
of  data  from  the  interpretation  of  which  chronological  rela- 
tions may  be  inferred.  These  are  respectively  stratification, 
or  superposition,  the  facts  of  distribution,  and  finally  docu- 
mented data.  The  last  of  these  we  know  as  history.  For 
each  of  these  classes  of  data  there  are  appropriate  tech- 
niques, though  in  the  most  part  still  inadequate  for  the  solu- 
tion of  the  New  World  Problem. 

Let  us  turn  our  attention  to  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Yucatan 
that  have  histories  1 from  which,  as  a vantage  ground,  re- 
spectable chronologies  have  been  established.  Of  these,  the 
last  is  the  most  extended,  for  the  very  good  reason  that 
the  Maya  have  left  to  us  a number  of  dated  inscriptions.2 
While  these  have  come  down  to  us  in  terms  of  the  curious 
and  highly  original  Maya  calendar,  yet  modern  scholars  have 
been  able  to  correlate  them  with  our  own  reckoning.  This 
correlation  is,  of  course,  not  absolute,  so  the  exact  dates  of 
one  investigator  do  not  quite  agree  with  those  of  another, 
but  still  all  have  the  same  sequence.  The  following  brief 
list  based  upon  Morley’s  readings 3 will  give  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  age  of  Maya  culture. 


B.C.  MAYA  CHRONOLOGY 

200 (?)  Approximate  earliest  date. 


A.D. 

50  Period  of  sculpture. 

600  Last  of  dated  sculptures. 

960  Chankanputun  destroyed  by  fire. 

1000  Triple  Alliance  of  Chichen  Itza,  Uxmal,  and  Mayapan — the 

period  of  architectural  development. 

1200  Triple  alliance  broken  by  the  ruler  of  Chichen  Itza  who  was 
overcome  by  the  ruler  of  Mayapan,  aided  by  the  Nahua. 
This  is  the  period  of  Nahua  influence. 

1450  Mayapan  overthrown  and  destroyed  and  collapse  of  Maya 
culture. 

1517  First  Spanish  expedition  to  Yucatan. 


CHRONOLOGY 


289 

Thus  we  see  that  fully  two  thousand  years  ago  Maya  art 
had  already  reached  a high  level  of  development,  implying 
far  more  remote  beginnings.  No  such  series  can  be  found 
in  Peruvian  antiquities,  but  they  may  be  the  older  for  all  that. 
The  history  of  the  rise  of  the  Inca  is  fairly  well  known,  the 
succession  of  rulers  being  as  follows : — 

1.  Rocca — about  1200  a.d. 

2.  Lloque  Yupanqui 

3.  Mayta  Capac 

4.  Capac  Yupanqui 

5.  Sinchi  Rocca 

6.  Yahuar  Huacac  Mayta  Yupanqui 

7.  Huira  Cocha-Tupac  Yupanqui 

8.  Tupac  Yupanqui 

9.  Huaina  Capac  (Inti  Cusi  Hualpa) 

10.  Huascar  Inti  (Cusi  Hualpa  Yupanqui)4 

The  unfortunate  Huascar  was  made  an  end  of  in  civil  war 
just  as  the  Spaniards  came  upon  the  scene  in  1532.  But 
Markham  produces  records  of  a much  longer  list  of  ninety- 
two  kings,  which,  if  authentic,  carries  us  back  to  about 
1300  b.c.  While  the  specific  correctness  of  these  early  lists 
is  improbable,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  such  an  antiquity 
is  in  keeping  with  archaeological  data  and  closely  parallels  the 
projected  Maya  chronology. 

For  the  career  of  the  Aztec  in  Mexico  we  have  a respect- 
able historical  literature,5  but  for  the  want  of  dated  sculp- 
tures cannot  establish  so  remote  a chronology  as  for  the 
Maya.  The  tabulated  list  gives  us  a few  of  the  most  im- 
portant dates,  though  all  those  preceding  1325  a.d.  are  but 
crude  approximations. 


A.D.  MEXICAN  CHRONOLOGY 

30o(?)  Toltec  cities  founded,  Tula,  Teotihuacan,  etc. 
7oo(?)  Totonac  settled  in  the  State  of  Vera  Cruz. 


290 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


A.D. 

1200  ( ?)  Tarascan  established  a state  in  Michoacan. 

1325  Founding  of  Mexico  City  by  the  Aztec. 

1370  Tri-partite  confederacy,  Mexico,  Tezcoco,  and  Tlacopan. 
1473  Tlatilulco  subjected  by  Aztec. 

1487  The  great  temple  of  Mexico  City  built — famous  for  human 
sacrifices. 

1521  Cortez  captures  Mexico  City. 

The  list  of  Aztec  rulers  as  given  by  Sahagun  is  as  fol- 
lows, the  dates  being  approximate : — 


Name 

Length  of  Rule 

Probable  Dates 

I. 

Acampich 

21 

i37o-i39i 

2. 

Uitziliuitl 

21 

1391-1412 

3- 

Chimalpopoca 

10 

1412-1422 

4- 

Itzcoatzin 

14 

1422-1436 

5- 

Moteuhgoma 

30 

1436-1466 

6. 

Axayacatl 

14 

1466-1480 

7. 

Tigocicatzin 

4 

1480-1484 

8. 

Auitzotl 

18 

1484-1502 

9. 

Moteuhgoma 

19 

1502-1521 

The  career  of  the  Aztec  rulers  appears  closely  parallel 
both  as  to  time  and  extent  to  that  of  the  Inca  in  Peru,  but 
both  were  later  than  the  rise  of  the  Maya.  The  similar 
dominance  of  the  rulers  of  Bogota  in  Colombia  should  be 
noted,  though  historians  have  been  less  successful  in  pro- 
jecting their  chronology.  The  three  examples  we  have 
given,  therefore,  exhaust  the  list  of  historical  chronologies 
for  the  New  World.  Among  the  less  cultured  tribes  there 
are  a few  feeble  efforts  to  compile  chronologies.  The  Kiowa 
and  Dakota  of  the  North  American  Plains  have  a kind  of 
year  count,  but  this  does  not  reach  beyond  the  period  of 
colonization  and  so  has  no  significance  here.6  The  celebrated 
Walam  Olum  of  the  Delaware  Indians7  gives  us  but  the 
vaguest  scraps  of  chronology,  and  little  more  can  be  said 
of  the  Popol  Vuh  manuscript  for  the  Quiche  of  Guatemala  8 
and  the  annals  of  their  neighbors  the  Cakchiquel.  Hence, 
for  historical  chronologies  that  correlate  with  dated  time 


CHRONOLOGY 


291 


we  must  look  chiefly  to  Mexico  and  Central  America.  Here 
lies  one  of  our  most  important  problems,  for  on  its  solution 
depends  our  proper  perspective  of  New  World  culture. 
In  the  main,  all  hinges  upon  our  success  in  reading  the  in- 
scriptions left  by  the  Maya.  Such  progress  has  been  made 
with  these  that  recorded  events  can  be  reckoned  with  an 
error  of  not  more  than  seven  days.9  The  preceding  tables 
show  us,  then,  that  if  Christ  had  come  to  the  New  World, 
he  would  have  found  flourishing  cities  with  ornate  temples, 
sheltering  an  elaborate  order  of  priests.  Beyond  this,  so 
far,  documentary  materials,  or  inscriptions,  fail  us.  Yet, 
this  is  no  mean  accomplishment  for  it  establishes  a period  of 
about  two  thousand  years  in  which  the  facts  of  culture  and 
distribution  can  be  satisfactorily  oriented. 

CHRONOLOGIES  DETERMINED  BY  STRATIFICATION 

The  former  method  partakes  of  the  nature  of  history, 
but  we  now  turn  to  more  direct  and  objective  methods  of 
demonstrating  time-relations.  Those  familiar  with  the  story 
of  Troy  in  the  Old  World  will  recall  how  one  city  was 
leveled  off  to  form  the  foundations  of  another  until  there 
were  in  the  earth  beneath,  layer  upon  layer,  each  containing 
the  debris  of  a separate  culture.  Naturally  these  layers  rise 
one  above  the  other  in  order  of  their  age  and  the  chronology 
of  the  several  cultures  as  was  discernible  in  a cross-section  as 
revealed  by  the  trenches  of  an  archaeologist.  Our  problem 
in  the  New  World  is,  then,  to  find  spots  where  the  debris  of 
one  culture  is  piled  upon  another. 

Among  the  best  known  stratigraphic  discoveries  are  those 
of  Uhle  10  at  Pachacamac,  Peru,  where  he  found  four  dis- 
tinct types  of  pottery  so  superimposed  as  to  make  their 
chronology  clear.  These  are  as  follows-! — 

4.  Inca  style. 

3.  Black  pottery. 

2.  Red-white-black  potte 

1.  Tiahuanaco  ware. 


292 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Subsequent  analysis  of  the  data  for  other  parts  of  Peru 
shows  that  at  the  time  the  Tiahuanaco  type  held  sway  in 
Pachacamac,  the  ancient  cities  of  Tiahuanaco,  Nasca,  and 
Trujillo  were  the  leading  culture  centers  and  were  funda- 
mentally similar.  Preceding  this  period,  upon  the  coast  at 
least,  was  a primitive  population. 

Recently  a special  student  of  the  Andean  region11  has 
worked  out  more  or  less  provisional  tables  for  several  re- 
stricted areas  which  may  be  summarized  as  follows: — 


1540  A.D. 

IOOO  A.D.-I540  A.D. 
500  A.D. —IOOO  A.D. 
200  B.C.-500  A.D. 
(?)  - 200  B.C. 


Spanish  Intrusion — Historic  Period. 
Inca  Period. 

Tiahuanaco  Period. 

Pachacamac,  Nasca,  Trujillo. 
Archaic  Period. 


While  these  data  are  by  no  means  mere  guesses,  they  are 
tentative  and  are  intended  to  express  the  relative  time  in- 
tervals in  this  sequence  as  indicated  by  the  data  now  avail- 
able, part  of  which  is  stratigraphic. 

In  1910  a stratification  of  cultures  was  observed  near 
the  city  of  Mexico,  which  subsequent  investigation  shows 
to  consist  of  ceramic  remains  in  three  horizons,12  as  fol- 
lows : — 


3.  Aztec  (noo?-i52i).  Contemporaneous  with  the  rise  of  the 
Aztec  group. 

2.  Toltec  (30o?-noo?).  Contemporaneous  with  Maya  dominance 
and  marked  by  Maya  influence. 

1.  Archaic  Tarascan  (?-300?).  Characterized  by  a highly  conven- 
tionalized type  of  figurines. 


Already  many  of  the  known  sites  in  Mexico  can  be  placed 
in  this  scheme,  so  that  all  we  now  need  is  careful  field- 
work. 

The  researches  of  Nelson,  Kidder,  and  Morris,  have,  by 
the  use  of  stratigraphy,  or  the  method  of  superposition,  ar- 
rived at  a chronology  for  the  Pueblo  area  of  the  United 


CHRONOLOGY  293 

States  by  taking  note  of  the  minute  variations  in  styles  of 
pottery,  as  follows: — 

(7)  The  Historic  Period  (1540-1921)  ; pottery  index,  Two-Color 
Glazed  Ware,  modern  type. 

(6)  Period  of  Three-Color  Glazed  and  Painted  Wares  ( ?-i54o)  ; 
this  is  the  latest  prehistoric  period. 

(5)  Period  of  Two-Color  Glazed  Wares,  early  type. 

(4)  Late  Period  of  Two-Color  Painted  Wares. 

(3)  Early  Period  of  Two-Color  Painted  Ware. 

(2)  The  Pre-Pueblo  Period,  crude  pottery  only. 

(1)  The  Initial  Period,  or  Basket  Makers,  pottery  generally  absent. 

Outside  of  these  areas  there  are  a few  sporadic  cases  of 
stratification,  as  Parker’s  demonstration  of  an  older  Algorn 
kin  culture  underlying  that  of  the  Iroquois  in  New  York 
State,13  and  Sterns’  recent  excavations  in  eastern  Nebraska 
where  he  finds  at  least  two  cultures.14  Finally,  the  work  of 
Abbott,  Putnam,  Volk,15  and  Spier 16  in  New  Jersey  has 
demonstrated  at  least  two  culture  strata,  to  be  discussed 
under  another  head.  Some  of  the  earlier  investigators  of 
shell-heaps  claimed  definite  stratification,  but  later  work  has 
failed  to  verify  the  finding.  Hence,  considering  the  small 
number  of  exceptions  just  cited,  we  can  truthfully  say  that 
so  far,  archaeological  work  outside  of  the  regions  of  higher 
culture  has  given  negative  stratification. 

Perhaps  it  should  be  noted  that  so  far  the  tendency  of  this 
negative  archaeological  investigation  has  been  to  show  some 
sequential  development  in  richness  and  complexity.  Thus, 
Smith’s  17  results  in  the  Columbia  area  and  Nelson’s  18  shell- 
heap  work  in  California  show  simpler  and  somewhat  cruder 
cultures  for  the  lower  parts  of  their  deposits,  but  the  per- 
sistence of  many  fundamental  forms  throughout  suggests 
that  the  succeeding  cultures  were  built  upon  the  foundation 
laid  down  at  what  seems  to  have  been  the  period  of  earliest 
occupancy.  This  also  seems  to  be  true  of  shell  and  other 
deposits  on  the  Atlantic  Coast.19  Even  in  the  Pueblo  area 


294 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


we  find  a similar  condition.  Consequently  the  best  interpre- 
tation we  can  give  the  observed  data  is  that  in  the  formative 
period  of  New  World  cultures  the  types  now  appearing  in 
our  areas  were  localized,  but  less  differentiated.  Such  unin- 
terrupted occupation  of  an  area  would  not  result  in  good 
examples  of  stratification,  but  would  give  us  deposits  in 
which  culture  changes  could  be  detected  only  in  the  quali- 
ties and  frequencies  of  the  most  typical  artifacts;  for  exam- 
ple, Nelson’s  pottery  series  from  New  Mexico.  This  is  an 
altogether  different  condition  from  that  confronting  the 
archaeologist  in  Western  Europe,  and  calls  for  a highly 
specialized  technique.20 

INAPPLICABILITY  OF  OLD  WORLD  CHRONOLOGY 

The  only  place  in  the  whole  world  where  we  have  a con- 
nected view  of  man’s  career  from  the  first  to  the  last  is  in 
western  Europe.  This  is  not  taken  to  mean  that  that  re- 
stricted area  was  the  place  of  our  origin,  but  simply  that  it 
is  the  one  part  of  the  earth  where  we  have  full  data.  Every- 
one is  familiar  with  the  few  grand  periods  into  which  this 
history  is  divided,  as  Paleolithic,  Neolithic,  Bronze  Age, 
Iron  Age,  etc.,  and  there  is  a natural  tendency  to  assume 
that  these  sequences  for  Western  Europe  must  hold  for  the 
whole  world.  Consequently,  many  efforts  have  been  made 
to  discriminate  between  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  in  the  data 
for  the  New  World.  Some  of  the  earlier  writers  sought  to 
identify  the  typical  forms  of  Paleolithic  chipped  implements 
by  selecting  those  that  closely  parallel  European  types,  but 
such  matching  of  forms  could  not  give  certain  conclusions 
and  was  eventually  abandoned.  Nevertheless,  some  modern 
students  of  European  archaeology  seem  to  hold  to  the  belief 
that  our  data  here  in  the  New  World  are  quite  susceptible 
of  division  into  true  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  periods. 
Again,  when  the  notion  of  a cave  culture  developed  in 
Europe,  American  students  searched  our  caverns  for  simi- 


CHRONOLOGY 


295 

lar  types,  but  without  marked  success.  All  this  occupies  an 
important  place  in  the  history  of  our  subject;  but  the  result 
was  in  the  main  negative,  since  no  exact  parallels  were 
found.  Unfortunately,  the  investigators  of  this  period 
sought  for  specific  parallels  and  not  finding  them,  formu- 
lated a theory  that  the  New  World  was  extremely  young 
and  that  in  consequence  no  true  Paleolithic,  or  even  deeply 
stratified  remains,  would  be  found.  The  reaction  to  this 
seems  to  have  been  a turning  away  from  all  stratigraphic 
and  analytic  studies  to  other  problems,  with  the  obvious 
result  that  no  advance  has  been  made. 

Recently  some  of  the  younger  anthropologists  have 
turned  to  the  problem  anew,  this  time  not  seeking  mere  par- 
allels, but  seeking  to  analyze  the  situation  as  found.  For 
example,  Nelson  21  worked  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  district 
of  Kentucky,  finding  two  cultures,  the  earlier  of  which  is 
without  pottery  and  with  very  little  polished  stone.  Again, 
new  studies  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  by  Spier  22  have  made 
conclusive  the  existence  of  an  earlier  culture,  also  without 
pottery  and  polished  stone.  Since  both  of  these  observations 
are  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  we  may  conclude  that  the 
existence  of  two  culture  periods  is  extremely  probable  in 
eastern  United  States.  In  other  words,  when  the  problem  is 
treated  independently,  we  can,  by  analysis,  arrive  at  chrono- 
logical distinctions.  We  may,  therefore,  expect  great  devel- 
opments in  the  near  future.  While  it  is  clear  that  the  specific 
concepts  of  European  archaeology  cannot  apply  here,  yet  in 
the  end  it  may  turn  out  that  there  is  something  in  common ; 
at  least,  the  pioneer  efforts  of  the  new  anthropological  school 
have  brought  results. 

Now  it  so  happens  that  the  main  characteristics  of  this 
early  simple  chipped  stone  culture  remind  one  of  certain 
horizons  in  western  Europe  which  pass  under  the  names  of 
Solutrean  and  Magdalenian.  However  this  may  be,  the 
remains  of  an  early  culture  have  come  to  light  in  northern 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


296 

Arizona  to  which  the  bow  was  unknown,  but  which  made 
use  of  the  spear-thrower  instead.  Again,  it  so  happens  that 
during  the  same  periods  of  Paleolithic  Europe  just  referred 
to,  we  find  the  spear-thrower  in  use  and  the  bow  unknown. 
Too  much  should  not  be  made  of  this  parallel,  but  it  points 
a clue,  whether  true  or  false,  only  further  research  will 
reveal.  It  at  least  raises  the  question  as  to  whether  the  first 
men  to  enter  the  New  World  brought  with  them  the  bow. 

INFERENTIAL  CHRONOLOGIES 

Inferring  time-relations  between  traits  of  culture  from 
their  distributions  is  not  a new  method,  but  so  far  its  use 
has  been  sporadic  and  incidental.  It  has  never  been  taken  as 
the  fundamental  technique  in  a comprehensive  investiga- 
tion, chiefly  because  the  facts  of  distribution  were  not  yet 
available.  As  we  have  stated  more  than  once,  the  only  ade- 
quate inventory  of  our  phenomena  is  to  be  found  in  well 
worked  out  distributions  for  the  most  distinctive  traits. 
Now  that  we  have  available  a fair  amount  of  such  data, 
interest  turns  naturally  to  the  consideration  of  chronological 
problems. 

Our  previous  delineation  of  culture  areas  revealed  cen- 
ters in  which  appeared  highly  specialized  traits  not  found 
in  the  respective  margins  of  the  areas  in  question.  In 
archaeological  investigations  in  the  Pueblo  area  of  the 
United  States  it  was  observed,  that  the  older  traits  had  the 
wider  distribution.  In  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  of  New 
Mexico  Nelson  first  determined  the  time-relations  of  the 
prehistoric  cultures  by  the  method  of  superposition,  only  to 
find  later  that  the  same  result  could  have  been  achieved  by 
an  inspection  of  the  surface  of  the  area  as  a whole.  In  gen- 
eral, it  has  long  been  the  practice  to  infer  that  wide  dis- 
tribution indicated  greater  relative  antiquity.  We  have  seen 
how,  in  a culture  area,  certain  traits  seem  to  survive  only  on 
the  margins.  This  relation  may  be  made  obvious  when  we 


CHRONOLOGY 


297 


consider  the  whole  of  the  New  World  as  a unit;  our  pre- 
vious discussions  have  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  higher 
forms  of  culture  are  found  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and 
the  northern  Andes.  Now  it  so  happens  that  a few  traits 
are  found  on  the  immediate  borders  of  the  great  central 
area,  among  the  historic  peoples  of  the  United  States  on  the 
one  hand,  and  among  those  of  Chile  and  Argentina  on  the 
other,  that  are  approximately  identical.  Further,  these 
traits  have  not  been  noted  for  the  intervening  higher  cul- 
tures. We  may  infer,  therefore,  that  they  represent  a part 
of  the  culture  that  underlies  the  more  central  higher  cul- 
ture, and  hence,  an  older  type.34  Again,  while  the  simple 
bow  is  found  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  Arctic,  the  sinew  bow 
has  but  a limited  distribution  in  Canada  and  the  United 
States.  We  infer,  therefore,  that  the  latter  is  a much  more 
recent  type.  Likewise,  there  is  a curious  bow  used  with  pel- 
lets instead  of  arrows,  which  in  the  New  World  is  confined 
to  a few  small  localities  in  Brazil,  in  consequence  of  which 
we  infer  that  its  introduction  was  very  recent,  perhaps  even 
since  1492.  Many  other  examples  will  occur  to  the  reader 
of  these  pages.  We  may  safely  take  it,  for  example,  that 
among  the  oldest  traits  of  New  World  culture  are  the  dog, 
the  bow,  the  spear-thrower,  the  lip  plug  or  labret,  the  simple 
firedrill,  simple  coil  basketry,  string  twisting,  stone  chipping, 
and  the  lean-to  shelter.  One  may  infer,  therefore,  that  so 
far  as  the  evidence  at  hand  goes,  the  first  aboriginal  groups 
to  reach  the  New  World  brought  cultures  of  which  these 
traits  were  constituent  parts.  This,  in  rough  outline,  is  the 
method  by  which  distribution  may  on  occasion  be  inter- 
preted in  chronological  terms.  While  every  method  can  be 
over-rated,  this  one  has  distinctive  merit  and  often  lends 
itself  to  partial  check  by  stratigraphic  and  historical  data. 

Under  this  general  head  we  may  also  include  the  more 
complicated  logical  methods  used  by  a number  of  contem- 
porary anthropologists.  The  theoretical  demonstration  of 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


298 

this  method  has  been  led  by  Sapir,23  while  the  best  examples 
of  its  application  are  to  be  found  in  certain  studies  by  Boas 
among  the  Eskimo,24  Spinden  in  Maya  art,25  Lowie  in 
societies  of  the  Plains  Indians,26  and  Hatt  in  studies  of 
clothing.27 

Boas 28  has  used  the  method  in  a number  of  instances,  but 
particularly  in  his  discussions  of  Eskimo  culture,  when  he 
concludes  that  the  most  differentiating  features  of  the 
Alaskan  Eskimo  are  more  recent  than  the  remaining  Eskimo 
culture.  The  method  is  even  more  extensively  applied  by 
Thalbitzer,29  who  decides  that  the  original  home  of  the  Es- 
kimo was  around  Bering  Sea,  from  which  general  center  he 
traces  out  the  older  and  newer  traits. 

Hatt,  a Danish  student,  has  exhaustively  studied  skin 
clothing  both  for  North  America  and  Asia,  distinguishing 
between  very  old  surviving  types  and  those  of  recent  origin. 
The  oldest  origin  center  he  places  in  northern  Asia  from 
whence  the  concepts  seem  to  have  been  diffused.30  In  gen- 
eral, he  finds  two  periods  of  diffusion  over  the  arctic  and 
sub-arctic  areas  of  the  world : — 

1.  The  older  culture:  Marked  by  absence  of  snowshoes,  its  best 
representative  being  the  Eskimo.  It  was  essentially  a seacoast 
culture. 

2.  The  later  culture:  Marked  by  the  snowshoe,  the  tipi  tent,  the 
moccasin,  etc.  It  was  an  inland  culture.  The  transition  from 
1 to  2 was  not  recent. 

Spinden’s  searching  analysis  of  Maya  art 31  is  important 
both  for  the  results  attained  and  as  an  example  of  sound 
method.  By  objective  comparison  the  carvings  upon  the 
monuments  and  walls  of  Maya  ruins  were  placed  in  two 
groups  that  seemed  to  be  sequential.  Further,  since  these 
stelae,  or  monuments,  are  dated,  it  is  easy  to  designate  the 
time  relations  of  these  groups,  thus  establishing  art  periods. 
From  this  as  the  point  of  departure,  the  entire  art  of  the 
region  is  analyzed  into  its  respective  periods  and  norms 


CHRONOLOGY 


299 


established  for  the  identification  of  such  additional  examples 
as  may  be  discovered.  As  to  how  far  the  method  can  be 
trusted  in  localities  where  there  is  no  dating  system  to  serve 
as  a check,  is  not  clear ; but  it  promises  well. 

Of  a different  sort  but  equally  meritorious  is  Lowie’s  his- 
torical analysis  of  societies  among  the  various  tribal  groups 
in  the  Plains  Area.32  The  full  reports  available  for  practi- 
cally all  the  many  Plains  tribes  make  it  obvious  that  one 
general  system  of  societies  was  diffused  throughout  the  area. 
By  a close  analysis  of  these  data  it  is  possible  to  show  some 
of  the  older  forms  of  these  organizations,  approximately 
where  they  arose,  and  in  what  direction  they  were  diffused. 
Incidentally,  close  former  historical  contacts  were  revealed 
for  some  tribes  now  rather  widely  separated. 

Thus,  we  see,  that  by  working  backward  from  the  historic 
period  or,  as  in  the  exceptional  case  of  the  Maya,  from  a 
fixed  date,  it  is  possible  by  these  methods  to  separate  the 
older  elements  of  culture  from  those  of  relatively  recent 
origin.  Looking  back  over  these  typical  studies  we  see  that 
the  general  method  is  the  same  whether  the  subject  be  in 
art,  industries,  or  social  organization.  In  the  main,  it  first 
analyzes  the  culture  trait-complexes  and  then  by  compara- 
tive reasoning  arranges  them  in  time  sequences.  Practically 
every  skilled  field-investigator  in  the  New  World  faces 
problems  of  this  sort;  but  the  method  is  at  its  best  only 
when  we  deal  with  traits  having  wide  continuous  distribu- 
tions, for  unless  we  can  balance  the  trait  variations  in  one 
group  of  people  against  those  in  a neighboring  group,  little 
can  be  expected.  As  a method,  however,  it  has  its  limita- 
tions, particularly  in  its  baffling  complexity  and  its  great 
dependence  upon  the  mere  logic  of  the  case.  What  we  need 
here  is  a more  objective  technique,  such  as  in  superposition 
and  relative  distribution. 

Aside  from  these  more  engaging  problems  there  are 
opportunities  for  the  study  of  trait  origin  by  direct  methods. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


300 

Of  these  Mooney’s  Ghost  Dance  Religion 33  is  a fine  exam- 
ple. In  such  cases  the  problem  is,  on  the  whole,  directly 
historical,  based  upon  documentary  and  personal  testimony. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  attention  is  not  given  to  such 
problems  because  it  is  only  in  them  that  we  shall  get  actual 
cases  of  culture  movements  to  serve  as  check  data  in  the 
development  of  inferential  chronologies. 

Returning  now  to  the  subject  under  consideration;  viz., 
the  relative  time-relations  of  traits  of  culture  as  revealed 
in  their  distribution,  we  see  in  the  first  place,  justification 
for  the  detailed  consideration  given  that  subject  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  and  in  the  second  place,  that  the  culture  cen- 
ters we  thereby  discovered,  are  after  all  local  developments 
which  are  in  turn  integral  parts  of  a larger  area  with  its 
super-center. 

SUMMARY 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  noted  that  while  the  chaotic  state 
of  our  chronological  knowledge  calls  for  synthetic  treat- 
ment, the  problem  is  still  in  the  pioneer  stage,  thus  rendering 
any  attempt  in  this  direction  extra  hazardous.  On  the  other 
hand,  for  the  sake  of  clarity  and  that  the  reader  may  have 
before  him  the  means  of  organizing  the  data  we  have  passed 
in  review,  even  a crude  time  chart  seems  justifiable.  Look- 
ing now  at  the  New  World  as  a whole,  it  is  plain  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  story  must  lie  in  the  central  area  of  inten- 
sive cultures  (Fig.  1).  As  we  have  seen,  the  historical 
method  carries  us  back  to  B.  C.  time  in  one  part  of  this  area 
and  it  is  certain  that  by  the  diligent  application  of  the  strati- 
graphic method  we  shall  eventually  carry  this  sequence  back 
to  the  earliest  type  of  aboriginal  cultures.  The  experience  of 
the  past  decade  shows  that  the  varying  styles  of  pottery  are 
the  best  indices  to  time-sequence,  and  since  the  ceramic  art 
is  everywhere  in  evidence  in  this  area,  the  need  of  the  future 
is  intensive  research  in  ceramics.  But  again,  turning  our 
attention  outward  (Fig.  1),  we  see  that  immediately  outly- 


CHRONOLOGY 


3DI 


1500 AD. 


O B.C. 


6000?- 

1 


12000  ? ■ 


N.  A. 

HUNTING 

AREAS 

N.  A. 
MAIZE 
AREA 

MEXICO  & 
PERU 
CENTRAL 
AREA 

S.  A. 
MANIOC 
AREA 

S.  A. 

HUNTING 

AREAS 

Slat  Armor 

Aztec  ¥>lnca 
Bronze 

Sinew  Bow 
Snowshoes 
Dog  traction 
Moccasins 

r 

Pit -houses ' 

r 

Copper 

Mounds 

Hoes 

1 

Maya  and 
Andean 
cities 
Megalithic 
Origins 

Soft  Metals 

Curare 

Blowgun 

Hammock 

Sola 

A : 

ARCHAIC  PERIOD 


Tobacco  - Maize  -Manioc 
Agriculture 
Pottery 


Stone  Polishing 


HUNTING  AND  FISHING  PERIOD, 


[c log  - bow  - canoe  -nets 


TN  FI  LTR  ATI  ON  PER  I OD 
harpoon  - spear -thrower  - stone  chipping 


OLD  WORLD  SOLUTREAN  -MAGDALENIAN  HORIZONS 


Culture  Sequence  in  the  New  World 

The  above  chart  is  in  the  main  based  upon  the  available  data  for  the  distri- 
bution of  culture  traits.  For  the  -first  isco  years  we  have  satisfactory  historic  data 
pertaining  to  a part  of  the  central  area,  beyond  this  the  time  estimates  are  con- 
jectural. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


302 

in g are  the  two  great  areas  of  primitive  agriculture,  the 
Eastern  Maize  area  of  North  America  and  the  Manioc  area 
in  South  America,  areas  in  which  hunting  and  other  cruder 
arts  still  play  a large  part  in  the  lives  of  the  people,  as  the 
older  and  more  fundamental  aspects  of  aboriginal  culture. 
Further,  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  agriculture,  pot- 
tery, etc.,  gradually  crept  outward  over  these  areas  and  that 
it  was  still  advancing  in  1492.  Looking  still  further  afield, 
we  see  the  final  fringes  of  hunting  and  fishing  peoples,  both 
in  North  and  South  America.  These  relations  we  have 
shown  in  the  accompanying  diagram,  on  the  horizontal  line 
for  the  sixteenth  century.  If  we  now  attempt  to  anticipate 
the  results  of  future  stratigraphic  research  in  each  of  these 
areas,  or  zones  of  culture,  and  so  project  their  respective 
chronologies  in  parallel  series,  guided  by  the  distribution 
data  now  available,  the  result  will  be  something  like  the 
chart  here  presented.  The  sequence  in  the  central  column 
has,  in  the  main,  been  determined  by  objective  methods  and 
may,  therefore,  be  taken  with  some  confidence.  In  the  two 
adjoining  columns  we  cannot  be  so  definite,  but  it  is  probable, 
for  example,  that  mounds  and  other  earthworks  appeared 
during  the  period  of  megalithic  development  at  the  center. 
Again  in  the  North  American  hunting  areas,  the  distribu- 
tion of  wooden  slat  armor  is  so  localized  and  limited  as  to 
make  its  recent  introduction  from  Asia  reasonably  certain ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  wider  but  similar  distribution  of  the 
subterranean  house  concept  leads  to  the  assumption  of  much 
greater  antiquity.  Similar  arguments  can  be  given  for  the 
intermediate  position  of  the  other  traits  enumerated.  But 
passing  over  these  many  details,  for  the  reader  can  elaborate 
the  chart  indefinitely,  and  turning  to  the  general  aspects  of 
the  outline,  we  note  that  as  we  go  downward  the  distinctions 
vanish  until  all  rest  upon  one  common  primitive  sub-stratum. 
The  probable  nature  of  this  initial  culture  we  have  previously 
outlined.  However,  in  so  doing  we  have  merely  formu- 
lated one  of  the  great  problems  of  the  New  World  for  the 


CHRONOLOGY 


303 


solution  of  which  new  techniques  are  needed  to  advance  our 
knowledge,  to  the  end  that  these  early  cultures  may  be  recon- 
structed, and  the  chronologies  of  both  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds  definitely  correlated. 


1.  Brinton,  1882.  II,  1885.  II; 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  1861. 
I. 

2.  Morley,  1915.  I. 

3.  Morley,  1915.  I;  1920.  I. 

4.  Markham,  1910.  I,  pp.  309-310. 

5.  Anales  de  Cuauhtitlan,  1886.  I. 

6.  Mooney,  1898.  I. 

7.  Brinton,  1885.  I. 

8.  Brinton,  1890.  I. 

9.  Sapir,  1916.  I. 

10.  Uhle,  1903.  I. 

11.  Means,  1917.  I. 

12.  Spinden,  1915.  I. 

13.  Parker,  1916.  II;  Shetrone, 
1920.  I. 

14.  Sterns,  1915.  I. 

15.  Volk,  1911.  I. 

16.  Spier,  1916.  I;  1918.  I. 


17.  Smith,  H.  I.,  1910.  II. 

18.  Nelson,  N.  C.,  1909.  I; 

1910.  I. 

19.  Nelson,  1918.  I. 

20.  Spier,  1917.  I. 

21.  Nelson,  N.  C.,  1917.  I. 

22.  Spier,  1916.  I;  1918.  I. 

23.  Sapir,  1916.  I. 

24.  Boas,  1907.  I. 

25.  Spinden,  1913.  I. 

26.  Lowie,  1916.  II. 

27.  Hatt,  1914.  I;  1916.  I. 

28.  Boas,  1907.  I. 

29.  Thalbitzer,  1914.  I. 

30.  Hatt,  1916.  I. 

31.  Spinden,  1913.  I. 

32.  Lowie,  1916.  II. 

33.  Mooney,  1896.  I. 

34.  Nordenskiold,  1918.  I. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


LINGUISTIC  CLASSIFICATION 

While,  in  the  broadest  sense,  language  is  a trait  of  cul- 
ture, its  characters  are  so  distinct  as  to  require  very  dif- 
ferent methods  of  investigation.  The  study  of  the  different 
forms  of  speech  in  the  Old  World  has  become  a separate 
learned  pursuit  and  one  in  which  the  problems  are  so  com- 
plex as  to  demand  great  specialization.  The  same  is  true  of 
primitive  languages  in  the  New  World,  as  well  as  in  the  less 
cultured  parts  of  the  Old.  Consequently  we  have,  under 
the  head  of  New  World  linguistics,  a fairly  distinct  division 
of  our  subject  in  which  the  most  important  investigations 
have  been  made  by  those  who  have  specialized  in  it. 

One  of  the  first  tasks  in  primitive  linguistics  is  the  classi- 
fication of  the  existing  forms  of  speech.  The  reader  may 
need  to  be  reminded  that  the  national  uniformity  of  lan- 
guage in  Europe  is  a correlate  of  close  political  organization, 
one  type  of  speech  having  been  selected  by  the  governing 
authority  and  its  use  perpetuated  by  enforced  education.  In 
the  more  primitive  states  of  society,  where  political  unity 
exists  only  for  a single  community  and  no  legislative  recog- 
nition of  languages  is  taken,  we  may  expect  each  such  politi- 
cal unit  to  show  some  individuality  in  speech.  In  fact,  so 
far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  data  at  hand  any  separation 
of  such  a political  unit  into  two  or  more  parts  will  sooner 
or  later  result  in  different  forms  of  speech. 

Under  such  conditions,  very  unequal  differences  will  exist. 
Between  some  groups  we  shall  find  but  a small  difference  in 
vocabulary;  in  others,  an  additional  phonetic  change;  and 
finally,  variations  in  the  grammatical  structure.  All  degrees 
of  these  differences  are  found  when  we  consider  a very  large 

304 


LINGUISTIC  CLASSIFICATION 


3°5 


number  of  political  units,  giving  us  an  intergradation  analo- 
gous to  that  we  observed  in  the  cultures  of  the  same  units. 
This  inequality  of  difference  renders  any  classification  more 
or  less  arbitrary.  So  long  as  the  tongues  of  two  or  more 
groups  do  not  diverge  beyond  the  possibility  of  communica- 
tion, they  are  usually  considered  as  dialects,  though  the 
degrees  of  mutual  intelligibility  connoted  by  that  term  may 
vary  greatly.  When  mutually  unintelligible  tongues  are 
found  to  possess  consistent  similarities  in  vocabulary  or 
grammatical  structure,  particularly  the  latter,  they  are  said 
to  be  of  the  same  family,  or  stock.  Thus,  all  the  languages 
of  the  New  World  may  be  placed  in  stock  groups,  the  con- 
ception of  a stock  being  a group  of  related  languages  with 
their  dialectic  subdivisions. 

The  determination  of  these  stocks  for  the  native  tribes  of 
the  United  States  was  initiated  by  Gallatin1  in  1826  and 
brought  to  a definite  form  in  1891  by  J.  W.  Powell,2  who 
organized  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  at  Washington.  Powell 
is  credited  with  the  system  of  nomenclature  now  used  for  all 
the  languages  of  the  New  World,  which  is  to  take  some 
native  unit  name  and  give  it  the  adjective  termination  an. 
Thus,  Siouan  stock  is  from  the  term  Sioux,  Caddoan  from 
Caddo,  etc.  In  the  main,  this  system  is  still  followed,  though 
the  clumsiness  of  the  termination  in  some  instances  has  led 
to  modification. 

Powell  confined  his  classification  to  the  tribes  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  which  he  grouped  under  fifty  or 
more  stocks  and  prepared  a map  showing  their  distribution. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  classification  and  map  is 
the  very  foundation  of  American  anthropology.  The  work 
was  so  well  done  that  very  few  changes  have  been  made  and 
as  it  was,  in  the  main,  based  upon  mere  vocabularies,  its 
excellence  stands  as  a worthy  memorial  to  Powell  and  his 
able  associates.  (See  map,  Fig.  65,  and  list  of  stocks  for 
United  States  and  Canada,  pp.  40 1-4 12.) 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


306 

The  general  value  of  this  classification  arose  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  then  the  only  classification  of  native  tribes  based 
upon  scientific  principles  and,  therefore,  afforded  the  point 
of  departure  for  the  investigation  of  culture  and  racial  anat- 


Fig.  65.  Linguistic  Stocks  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
J.  W.  Powell 


omy.  Thus,  its  importance  arises  from  historical  conditions, 
for  it  has  very  little  to  contribute  to  the  problems  of  culture 
and  anatomy  aside  from  the  practical  matter  of  tribal  desig- 
nation. On  the  other  hand,  we  should  note  that  the  basis  of 


LINGUISTIC  CLASSIFICATION 


307 


classification  employed  for  language  is  different  from  that 
used  for  culture.  As  stated  in  the  preceding  chapters,  cul- 
tures were  grouped  according  to  their  objective  similarities 
and  their  geographical  associations,  but  such  a gross  group- 
ing was  not  in  any  sense  expressive  of  genetic  relations 
between  the  cultures  concerned.  We  saw,  however,  that  the 
ultimate  grouping  of  cultures  was  destined  to  be  chronologi- 
cal, which,  in  a way,  would  express  genetic  relationships. 
Now,  the  conception  of  a linguistic  stock  is  a group  of  lan- 
guages all  the  members  of  which  have  a common  ancestor, 
and  between  whom  it  is  possible  to  establish  degrees  of  rela- 
tionship. Hence,  the  moment  we  identify  a language  as 
belonging  to  a definite  stock,  we  automatically  assert  its 
genetic  relationship.  In  this  sense,  the  classification  of  the 
linguistic  characters  of  man  is  superior  to  the  present  classi- 
fication of  his  cultural  characters. 

We  have  now  a considerable  number  of  specialists  in 
North  American  languages,  but  the  task  before  them  is  so 
great  that  the  investigations  of  the  several  stocks  have  not 
progressed  far  enough  to  make  possible  a comprehensive 
statement  of  the  whole  subject.  In  scarcely  a single  case  are 


List  of  Stocks  for  Fig.  65 


1.  Algonquian 

2.  Athapascan 

3.  Attacapan 

4.  Beothukan 

5.  Caddoan 


20.  Keresan 

21.  Kiowan 

22.  Klamath 

23.  Kusan 

24.  Kutenai 

25.  Maidu 

26.  Moquelumnan 

27.  Muskhogean 

28.  Piman 

29.  Pomo 

30.  Quoratean 

31.  Salinan 

32.  Salishan 

33.  Shahaptin 

34.  Shastan 

35.  Shoshonean 

36.  Siouan 

37.  Siuslaw 

38.  Takelma 


39.  Tanoan 

40.  Timucuan 


41.  Tlingit 

42.  Tonkawa 

43.  Tunican 

44.  Uchean 


6.  Chimakuan 

7.  Chimarikan 

8.  Chimmesyan 

9.  Chinookan 

10.  Chitimachan 

11.  Chumashan 

12.  Coahuiltecan 

13.  Costanoan 

14.  Eskimauan 

15.  Esselenian 

16.  Haida 


45.  Waiilatpuan 

46.  Wakashan 

47.  Washoan 

48.  Weitspekan 

49.  Wintun 

50.  Wishoskan 


51.  Yakona 

52.  Yanan 

53.  Yokuts 

54.  Yukian 

55.  Yuraan 

56.  Zunian 


17.  Iroquoian 

18.  Kalapooian 

19.  Karankawa 


3°8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Linguistic  Stocks  in  Mexico  and  Central  America.  Thomas  and  Swanton 


LINGUISTIC  CLASSIFICATION 


309 


we  able  to  designate  the  type  tongue  for  a stock  or  to  indi- 
cate the  historical  relationships  of  its  divisions.  All  this  is 
for  the  future.  At  present,  the  refinement  of  classification 
seems  to  be  the  chief  interest.  As  we  have  stated,  even  the 
stock  designation  is  somewhat  arbitrary,  for  greater  famil- 
iarity with  these  languages  has  brought  to  light  new  similar- 
ities between  what  have  heretofore  been  regarded  as  dis- 
tinct stocks.  For  instance,  the  Shoshonean  and  Nahuatl 
have  been  combined ; the  Piman  stock  is  also  considered  as 
a member  of  this  group  by  S wanton  and  Kroeber;  Natche- 
san  and  Muskhogean  were  grouped  together  by  Swanton;3 
Sapir4  claims  Wishoskan  (Wiyot)  and  Weitspekan  (Yu- 
rok)  to  be  Algonquian;  Kroeber  and  Dixon5  group  the 
Shasta,  Chimariko,  Karok  (Quoratean),  Porno  (Kulanap- 
an),  Esselen  and  Yuman  of  California  as  one  stock  under 
the  new  name  of  Hokan,  and  in  like  manner  the  Wintun 
(Copehan),  Maidu  (Pujunan),  Yokuts  (Mariposan),  Mi- 
wok  (Moquelumnan)  and  Costanoan  under  the  name 
Penutian.6  All  such  changes  have  met  with  opposition 
and  are  accumulating  a large  amount  of  controversial 
literature. 

Aside  from  these  specific  attacks  upon  the  Powell  classi- 
fication it  has  been  recognized  that  stocks  show  a geographi- 
cal grouping  of  some  kind.  Boas  designates  a southeastern 
type  of  language  to  which  also  the  Iroquois  and  Caddoan 
seem  to  belong,  other  students  have  noted  a similar  grouping 


List  of  Stocks  for  Fig.  66 


1.  Athapascan 

2.  Chiapanecan 

3.  Chibchan 


11.  Lencan 

12.  Mayan 

13.  Matagalpan 

14.  Mosquitoan 

15.  Nahuatlan 

16.  Olivean 

1 7.  Otomian 

18.  Pakawan 

19.  Payon 

20.  Subtiaban 


21.  Tamaulipecan 

22.  Tarascan 

23.  Tequistlatecan 


4.  Chinantecan 

5.  Cunan 


24.  Totonacan 

25.  Ulvan 


6.  Huavean 


26.  Waicurian 

27.  Yuman 


7.  Janambrian 

8.  Jicaquean 

9.  Jincan 


28.  Zapotecan 

29.  Zoquean 


JO.  Laguneros 


3IQ 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


of  the  Shoshonean,  Kitunahan,  and  Kiowan  stocks.  Boas 
and  later  Sapir  7 find  similarities  between  the  Tlingit,  Haida, 
and  the  Athapascan.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  further 
investigation  of  these  relations  will  result  in  the  elimination 
of  some  stocks,  and  in  any  event  establish  some  kind  of  his- 
torical relationship.  When  this  comes  to  pass,  we  may  find 
that  languages  have  also  a geographical  grouping  not  unlike 
that  for  other  culture  traits.  Incidentally,  we  note  that  the 
existence  of  even  such  geographical  affinities  as  have  been 
so  far  established  suggest  long  and  permanent  residence  in 
one  area. 

Unlike  culture,  language  has  no  true  archaeology,  but  a 
few  stocks  have  become  extinct  since  their  discovery,  as 
indicated  in  the  tabulated  lists.  Yet,  it  is  truly  surprising 
that  so  few  have  so  far  passed  out  of  existence,  though  it 
is  probable  that  their  extinction  will  proceed  from  now  on 
with  increasing  rapidity.8  This  tendency  of  speech  to  sur- 
vive long  after  great  culture  change  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count when  we  attempt  to  correlate  our  classifications.  It 
also  complicates  the  problem  of  linguistic  origins. 

To  summarize,  then,  we  find  a genetic  basis  for  linguistic 
classification,  expressed  by  the  term  stock.  All  the  native 
languages  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  have  been  iden- 
tified, or  we  may  say  there  is  no  historic  tribe  in  this  terri- 
tory whose  linguistic  stock  is  not  known.9  For  Mexico  and 
Central  America  10  we  can  not  be  sure,  but  it  is  improbable 
that  more  than  two  or  three  have  been  overlooked.  In  South 
America,11  we  are  still  less  certain  of  the  completeness  of 
our  knowledge.  In  the  appendix  we  have  tabulated  the  rec- 
ognized stocks  for  these  geographical  divisions:  for  the 
United  States  and  Canada  there  are  fifty-six  stocks;  for 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  twenty-nine;  and  for  South 
America,  eighty-four.  Distribution  maps  have  been  pre- 
pared which  we  present  in  outline:  Figs.  65,  66,  and  67. 
Upon  these,  the  stocks  are  designated  by  numerals  which 


PHONETICS  3H 

stand  for  the  corresponding  stocks  in  alphabetical  order  (see 

Pp.  401-419-) 

COMPARATIVE  PHONETICS 

Linguistic  studies  fall  into  two  rather  distinct  groups: 
phonetics  and  structure.  Of  these,  phonetics  is  still  quite 
undeveloped,  the  greater  effort  being  placed  upon  structure, 
or  word  and  sentence  formation.  Yet,  some  progress  has 
been  made  in  phonetics.  For  a time,  attention  was  given 
only  to  the  necessary  practical  ways  of  recording  these  new 
languages,  each  field-worker  devising  his  own  system.  A 
certain  initial  uniformity  was  secured  by  the  mechanical 
limitations  of  printing,  but  even  this  proved  unsatisfactory. 
Recently  the  American  Anthropological  Association  ap- 
pointed a committee  to  formulate  and  standardize  the 
methods  of  transcribing  and  printing.12  The  report  of  this 
committee  is  essentially  a pioneer  work  on  New  World 
phonetics,  but  no  such  practical  system,  however  perfect, 
can  take  the  place  of  independent  phonetic  investigation.  A 
beginning  has  been  made  by  Goddard  who  introduced  the 
objective  mechanical  methods  of  phonetic  analysis  devised 
by  European  students,  but  as  yet  the  whole  subject  is 
before  us.13 

In  a very  tentative  way  a few  of  the  characteristics  of 
North  American  phonetics  have  been  suggested.  Perhaps 
one  of  the  most  obvious  differences  from  English,  for  ex- 
ample, is  the  small  use  made  of  the  stress  accent.  Another 
peculiarity  of  American  speech  is  a curious  stopping  of  the 
breath  before  or  after  vowels,  the  mechanism  for  which  is 
a closure  of  the  glottis.  Some  of  the  native  consonants  have 
proved  particularly  difficult  to  European  recorders.  Among 
these  are  the  stopped  consonants,  b,  d,  g,  k,  p,  q,  and  t, 
which  have  many  forms,  but  sometimes  seem  to  stand  be- 
tween sonants  and  surds.  These  sounds  are  usually  desig- 
nated as  intermediate  stops.  Again,  there  are  globalized 


312 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


PHONETICS 


m 


forms  resulting  from  a closure  of  the  glottis  and  a quick 
release,  giving  an  explosive  sound  not  found  in  European 
speech.  Yet  the  present  enumeration  of  such  assumed 
phonetic  differences  can  serve  no  very  good  purpose,  for 
until  the  study  of  New  World  phonetics  comes  into  its  own, 
we  can  not  state  what  characters,  if  any,  are  peculiar  to  it. 

In  passing,  note  should  be  taken  of  a few  pioneer  regional 
surveys.  In  California,  where  we  find  a large  number  of 
different  native  languages,  there  appears  to  be  a fair  degree 
of  phonetic  uniformity.14  For  one,  the  vowels  tend  to  be 
open  rather  than  closed  and  are  given  with  a greater  breath 
impulse  than  in  European  languages.  The  intermediate 
stops,  just  mentioned,  are  numerous  and  there  is  a strong 
tendency  to  use  two  t’s  but  on  the  other  hand  a single  k. 


List  of  Stocks  for  Fig.  67 


1.  Alikulufan 

2.  Allentiacan 

3.  Andaquian 

4.  Apolistan 

5.  Araucanian 

6.  Arawakan 

7.  Ardan 

8.  Atacamenan 

9.  Aymaran 

10.  Barbacoan 

11.  Betoyan 

12.  Bororan 

13.  Calchaquian 

14.  Canarian 

15.  Canichanan 

16.  Carayan 

17.  Cariban 

18.  Caririan 

19.  Cayubaban 

20.  Changoan 

21.  Chapacuran 

22.  Charruan 

23.  Chavantean 

24.  Cbibchan 

25.  Chiquitan 

26.  Chocoan 

27.  Cholonan 

28.  Chonoan 


29.  Coconucan 

30.  Corabecan 

31.  Cunan 

32.  Curucanecan 

33.  Enimagan 

34.  Esmeraldan 

35.  Goyatecan 

36.  Guahiban 

37.  Guaraunan 

38.  Guatoan 

39.  Guaycuruan 

40.  Itonaman 

41.  Itucalean 

42.  Jivaran 

43.  Jurian 

44.  Lecan 

45.  Lorenzan 

46.  Lulean 

47.  Mainan 

48.  Makuan 

49.  Matacan 

50.  Miranhan 

51.  Mocoan 

52.  Mosatenan 

53.  Moviman 

54.  Muran 

55.  Ocoronan 

56.  Onan 


57.  Otomacan 

58.  Otuquian 

59.  Paniquitan 

60.  Panoan 

61.  Peban 

62.  Piaroan 

63.  Puelchean 

64.  Puinavian 

65.  Puquinan 

66.  Quechuan 

67.  Salivan 

68.  Samucan 

69.  Sanavironan 

70.  Tacanan 

71.  Tapuyan 

72.  Ticunan 

73.  Timotean 

74.  Trumaian 

75.  Tsonekan 

76.  Tupian 

77.  Uitotan 

78.  Uran 

79.  Yahganan 

80.  Yaruran 

81.  Ypurinan 

82.  Yuncan 

83.  Yurucarean 

84.  Zaparan 


314 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


In  how  far  these  phonetic  traits  are  limited  to  California 
can  not  be  stated,  but  such  phonetic  peculiarities  as  have 
been  reported  for  the  North  Pacific  Coast  peoples  suggest 
some  differences;  for  example,  there  is  a somewhat  unique 
voiceless  l found  all  the  way  from  Alaska  to  northern  Cali- 
fornia, and  along  with  it,  in  the  main,  a few  fortis  con- 
sonants. These  suggest  that  a study  of  phonetic  distribu- 
tion will  not  only  reveal  some  definite  New  World  charac- 
ters, but  show  localized  geographical  types  as  well. 

In  this  connection  we  may  remark  that  J.  P.  Harrington’s 
pioneer  work  suggests  two  main  phonetic  systems  for  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  which  because  of  their  apparent 
geographical  segregation  may  be  designated  as  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  types.  The  great  nucleus  of  the  Atlantic  type  is 
found  in  Algonkian  and  Eskimo  speech.  These  suggestions 
should  be  noted  for  the  grouping  of  Algonkian,  Eskimoan, 
and  a few  minor  stocks  on  one  side,  as  against  Athapascan, 
Salishan,  Shoshonean,  and  Siouan,  on  the  other,  leads  one 
to  feel  that  he  is  upon  the  threshold  of  a new  insight  into  the 
origins  of  American  stocks.  Thus,  it  would  appear  that  the 
Algonkin  and  Eskimo  are  survivors  of  the  earlier  linguistic 
strata  of  aboriginal  man  and  therefore  may  in  their  blood 
and  culture  preserve  something  from  this  old  heritage.  Un- 
fortunately, our  specialists  know  so  little  of  South  American 
phonetics  that  this  suggestive  comparison  cannot  be  carried 
further,  for  by  analogy  we  may  expect  that  somewhere  in 
Brazil  and  Patagonia  the  Atlantic  type  will  appear. 

Again,  from  a different  point  of  view,  it  appears  that  in 
phonetics,  we  have,  perhaps  more  than  anywhere  else,  an 
instinctive  formative  culture  factor  and  an  organic  basis  for 
the  unconscious  modification  of  a trait,  all  of  which  leads 
into  psychological  problems  of  the  very  greatest  importance 
to  anthropology. 


MORPHOLOGY 


315 

COMPARATIVE  MORPHOLOGY 

While,  as  stated  above,  the  structure  or  morphology  of 
languages  has  received  the  most  attention,  yet  when  we  con- 
sider the  speech  of  the  New  World  as  a whole,  even  this 
subject  is  quite  undeveloped.  In  the  main,  the  time  of  inves- 
tigators has  been  taken  up  with  the  necessary  recording  of 
texts  and  the  working  out  of  translations,  and  though  their 
published  papers  often  close  with  summaries  of  the  struc- 
tural systems  employed,  this  has  in  no  case  gone  far  enough 
to  admit  of  extensive  comparative  studies  for  the  continents 
at  large.  However,  the  reader  will  sometimes  find  in  the 
older  literature  certain  characterizations  of  New  World 
languages,  cited  as  distinguishing  them  from  languages  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  These  should  be  ignored,  for  the 
different  tongues  of  the  New  World  show  very  wide  diver- 
gence in  their  structure,  in  fact,  presenting  about  all  the 
known  varieties. 

Yet  there  is  one  aspect  of  morphology  in  which  the  New 
World  shows  some  distinction.  While,  in  general,  the  mor- 
phological classification  of  all  languages  is  rather  difficult, 
yet  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  internal  coherence  of  the 
word  they  can  be  comprehended  under  three  heads : isolat- 
ing, agglutinative,  and  inflective.15  Other  bases  of  classifi- 
cation have  been  proposed,  but  are  found  less  satisfactory; 
hence,  they  may  be  ignored  here.  Applying  the  above  cri- 
terion to  the  speech  of  the  New  World,  we  find  it  chiefly 
agglutinative,  in  fact,  as  far  as  we  know,  exclusively  so.  On 
the  other  hand  agglutinative  speech  occurs  in  the  Old  World 
so  that  this  character  can  not  be  taken  as  peculiar;  we  can 
only  say  that  perhaps  in  this  respect  greater  morphological 
unity  exists  among  New  World  languages.  Further,  there 
seem  to  be  some  indications  that  certain  processes,  as  the 
incorporation  of  the  object  in  the  verbal  phrase,  the  polysyn- 
thetic  formation  of  terms,  etc.,  are  of  more  frequent  occur- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


316 

rence  here  than  in  the  Old  World,  but  it  remains  for  future 
students  to  definitely  establish  the  facts.  In  fact,  as  the  case 
stands  at  present,  there  are  no  known  morphological  charac- 
ters strictly  peculiar  to  New  World  speech  as  a whole. 

If  we  attempt  a review  of  comparative  studies  in  mor- 
phology, we  must  again  turn  to  California  and  the  Pacific 
Coast,  for  as  we  shall  see  presently,  this  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent is  the  home  of  a large  number  of  small  linguistic  fam- 
ilies. The  most  important  single  contribution  to  the  subject 
is  by  Dixon  and  Kroeber 16  who  showed  that,  as  a whole,  the 
languages  of  California  differ  in  the  non-use  of  reduplica- 
tion of  the  noun  to  indicate  plurality,  the  method  of  incor- 
porating the  pronoun  and  even  the  noun  into  the  verb,  and 
in  contrast  to  these,  the  employment  of  syntactical  cases,  a 
method  almost  unknown  in  other  parts  of  the  continent. 
These  of  themselves  suggest  that  we  have  here  a close  par- 
allel to  the  grouping  of  political  units  according  to  culture, 
for  these  linguistically  independent  stocks  still  show  suf- 
ficient traits  in  common  to  form  a geographical  area. 

In  like  manner,  the  languages  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
form  another  area.  Though  no  convenient  summary  is 
available  for  this  group  of  stocks,  Sapir  17  has  proposed  the 
term  Na-dene  for  the  Tlingit,  Haida,  and  Athapascan  on 
the  assumption  that  they  have  a genetic  relation.  However 
this  may  be,  this  author  shows  that  they  do  form  a group 
with  some  distinctive  characters,  as  the  absence  of  reduplica- 
tion, the  very  frequent  use  of  freely  compounded  stems, 
modes  and  tenses  indicated  by  internal  phonetic  changes  in 
the  verb  stem,  the  somewhat  general  tendency  to  loose  syn- 
thetic structure  in  forming  words,  etc.  Of  the  other  lan- 
guages, Tsimshian  on  the  one  hand  and  Wakashan 
(Kwakiutl-Nootka)  and  Salish  on  the  other,  have  some 
characters  in  common,  as  initial  reduplication  in  both  nomi- 
nal and  verbal  forms,  and  the  use  of  suffixes  in  numerals  as 
classifiers  of  the  objects  designated.  Again,  all  the  above 


MORPHOLOGY 


3i7 


languages  have  certain  phonetic  similarities.  Thus,  while 
we  can  not  group  these  languages  so  readily  as  those  of  Cal- 
ifornia, yet  we  are  able  to  distinguish  them  with  respect  to 
certain  characters.  Further,  they  fall  into  contiguous 
geographical  positions. 

In  an  analogous  manner  Speck 18  shows  that  Muskhogean 
of  the  lower  Mississippi  has  affinities  with  its  neighbors  and 
recently  Swanton  19  reports  evidences  of  grouping  among 
the  several  small  stocks  of  the  Gulf  Coast.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a presumption  that  Caddoan,  Iroquoiah,  Muskhogean, 
Uchean,  etc.,  all  possess  certain  characters  that  may  be 
taken  as  linguistic  indices  of  the  region,  or  culture  area  8 
(p-  23 7). 

Thus,  in  general,  we  seem  to  have  a grouping  of  stocks 
around  geographical  nuclei  and  this  raises  the  question  as  to 
the  nature  of  this  larger  group.  Is  this  somewhat  vague,  but 
still  definite,  group  of  stocks  to  be  considered  as  of  the  same 
sort  as  the  strictly  genetic  cluster  within  a single  stock?  If 
the  answer  proves  to  be  negative,  then  we  must  seek  for 
some  external  causes  contributing  to  this  result;  but,  if  posi- 
tive, then  the  stocks  forming  such  a group  are  themselves  of 
common  origin  or  descent.  Between  these  two  positions, 
the  anthropologists  of  the  United  States  are  about  equally 
divided.  If  we  examine  the  case  upon  its  gross  merits,  there 
appears  no  discernible  difference  between  the  kinds  of  sim- 
ilarities by  which  stock  affiliations  are  determined  and  those 
making  these  geographical  groups.  It  is  merely  a matter 
of  degree.  That  being  the  case,  the  probabilities  favor  the 
genetic  interpretation.  On  the  other  hand,  very  vague  sim- 
ilarities may  be  possible  as  the  result  of  mere  social  contact, 
in  which  case  the  genetic  relation  could  only  apply  to  one  or 
two  elements  of  the  language.  However,  speculation  upon 
these  points  is  futile,  and  we  may  conclude  by  noting  that 
along  this  line  the  greatest  advances  in  future  linguistic 
researches  are  to  be  expected. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


3i8 

The  best  illustration  of  the  above  is  found  in  the  investi- 
gations of  Californian  languages  by  Kroeber  and  Dixon,20 
to  which  we  several  times  referred.  In  Fig.  68  we  see  the 
positions  of  the  original  twenty-two  stocks  identified  by 


Fig.,  68.  The  Proposed  Consolidation  of  Stocks  in  California. 
Kroeber  and  Dixon 


Powell.  Later,  Kroeber  and  Dixon 21  discovered  three  large 
morphological  groups  for  these  stocks  as  indicated  by  the 
shadings  on  the  map.  Recently,22  these  investigators  have 
become  convinced  that  these  larger  groups  represent  single 
stocks,  two  of  which  are  not  found  elsewhere  (Hokan  and 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  STOCKS 


319 


Penutian),  while  the  third  is  a member  of  the  Algonquian 
stock.  While  other  linguists  have  not  yet  accepted  this 
genetic  interpretation  of  the  observed  grouping,  the  facts  of 
similarity  are  not  in  dispute.  In  our  discussion  of  the  Cali- 
fornian culture  area  we  noted  a central  group  of  tribes  pos- 
sessing the  most  typical  culture  (p.  225),  and  we  now  see 
that  these  are  almost  exclusively  members  of  the  Penutian 
group.  Thus,  if  the  genetic  relationship  of  these  Powell 
stocks  is  denied,  we  must  assume  a correlation  of  some  kind 
between  language  and  culture.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
genetic  interpretation  is  valid,  what  shall  be  said  of  the  sim- 
ilarities between  Muskhogean,  Uchean  and  Iroquoian,  pre- 
viously cited  ? 

Finally,  irrespective  of  these  puzzling  questions,  there  is  a 
problem  in  mere  word  distribution.  For  example,  the  term 
for  dog  is  approximately  the  same  in  many  California 
stocks;  the  root  term  for  hoofed  animals  is  the  same  for 
several  Algonquian,  Siouan  and  Caddoan  languages  and 
there  seems  to  be  a continental  tendency  to  use  n and  m as 
the  roots  of  pronouns.  Some  of  these  observations  may 
have  historical  value  since  the  word  for  dog  must  have 
traveled  along  with  the  animal.  The  probabilities  are  that 
such  studies  will  lead  to  historical  discoveries  and  establish 
time  relations  in  culture. 23 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  STOCKS 

We  may  summarize  the  previous  discussion  by  the  state- 
ment that  the  chief  general  result  of  linguistic  investigation 
in  the  New  World  has  been  the  identification  and  location 
of  the  several  stocks.  Yet,  the  perfecting  of  this  classifica- 
tion is  no  mean  achievement  and  is  destined  to  play  an  in- 
creasingly larger  role  in  the  development  of  our  subject.  The 
important  point  is  that  such  a classification  is  based  upon 
the  idea  of  genetic  relationship,  and  so  stands  in  much  the 
same  relation  to  our  subject  as  does  evolution  to  zoology. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


320 

Thus,  there  can  not  be  the  least  doubt  that  all  the  Algon- 
guian  languages  had  a common  ancestor  and  the  further 
study  of  the  several  divisions  of  that  stock  promises  to  reveal 
the  general  outline  of  this  initial  type.  Further,  we  have 
a right  to  expect  that  when  the  comparative  studies  we  have 
noted  are  more  advanced,  definite  genetic  relations  will  ap- 
pear between  many  of  the  now  recognized  independent 
stocks.  For  it  is  apparent  that  the  cultural  and  somatic 
unity  of  the  New  World  necessitates  some  kind  of  genetic 
relationship  between  the  surprisingly  large  numbers  of 
stocks  now  enumerated  in  its  linguistic  classifications.  The 
pursuit  of  these  important  problems  will  be,  in  the  main, 
empirical,  and  as  such  offers  one  of  the  most  enticing  fields 
for  the  scientifically  inclined.  Yet,  this  is  for  the  future, 
our  chief  consideration  here  being  the  distribution  of  lin- 
guistic stocks. 

This  is  shown  upon  the  maps.  We  see  that  the  most 
widely  distributed  stocks  in  the  northern  continent  are  the 
Athapascan,  Algonquian,  Iroquoian,  Muskhogean,  Caddoan, 
Siouan,  Salishan,  and  Shoshonean-Nahuatlan.  The  Arawa- 
kan,  Tupian,  Tapuyan,  Cariban,  Puelchean,  and  Tsonekan 
are  the  largest  of  the  southern  continent.  In  North  Amer- 
ica, the  eight  large  stocks  enumerated  occupy  practically  all 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada  save  the  Arctic  and  Pacific 
Coast  belt  and  a small  part  of  the  Gulf  Coast.  The  lower 
part  of  Mexico  and  southward  to  the  Isthmus  is  also  the 
home  of  many  small  stocks.  Thus  of  the  entire  eighty-five 
stocks  in  North  America,  all  but  eight  are  crowded  into  less 
than  one-eighth  of  the  continental  area,  where  they  occupy 
marginal  positions.  In  South  America  there  is  some  con- 
fusion arising  from  the  inter spersion  of  many  stocks  in  the 
Amazon  basin,  but  again  we  seem  to  have  the  smaller  stocks 
on  the  Pacific  side,  though  their  marginal  positions  are  not 
so  prominent.  One  curious  fact  is  that  in  the  regions  of 
higher  culture  we  find  great  linguistic  diversity  while  the 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  STOCKS 


321 


very  large  widely  extended  stocks  are  met  with  chiefly  in 
the  regions  of  lower  culture,  though  not  exclusively.  It 
does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  populations  speaking  the 
stock  languages  of  the  latter  were  much  larger,  because  they 
were,  in  the  main,  hunting  peoples  and  would  require  a 
large  range  for  the  support  of  each  family.  Whatever  else 
these  facts  may  signify,  they  indicate  that  the  development  of 
higher  culture  was  not  a linguistic  phenomenon. 

Another  observable  tendency  of  the  large  stocks  is  to 
spread  over  a single  geographical  area.  Thus,  while  the 
Siouan  stock  has  a few  straggling  remnants  on  the  coast, 
the  great  main  body  is  found  in  the  open  plains  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  Athapascan,  Algonquian,  Salishan,  and 
Shoshonean  stocks  show  similar  tendencies.  In  South  Amer- 
ica this  is  not  quite  so  clear,  but  still  seems  to  be  the  prevail- 
ing tendency.  This  suggests  that  the  ancestors  of  these 
stocks  took  up  their  abodes  in  these  respective  areas  and  that 
their  later  distribution  is  the  result  of  normal  expansion,  a 
common  cultural  bond  tending  to  hold  them  to  the  same  area. 
The  detached  groups  appear  to  have  modified  their  culture 
in  response  to  their  change  of  habitat.  This  does  not  signify 
that  these  detached  tribes  were  always  the  migrants  for  it 
may  sometimes  have  been  otherwise.  Thus,  we  have  some 
very  important  problems  in  these  larger  stocks,  for  example 
the  Athapascan.  Here  we  have  a right  to  expect  that  future 
linguistic  research  will  reveal  the  oldest  language  group  and 
its  relations  to  the  others  and  that  from  this  their  relative 
movements  can  be  deduced.  As  it  now  stands,  we  can  form 
no  positive  idea  as  to  their  original  home,  whether  it  was  in 
Arizona,  Oregon,  or  Canada.  The  most  worthy  suggestion 
comes  from  Sapir  who  states  that  the  observable  resem- 
blance of  Athapascan  to  the  languages  of  the  adjoining 
Pacific  Coast  is  a strong  argument  in  favor  of  a northern 
cradle  land.24 

Of  almost  equal  importance  are  the  Algonquian,  Siouan 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


322 

and  Shoshonean-Nahuatl  problems.  The  Algonquian  and 
Siouan  stocks  have  somewhat  similar  distributions,  a large 
compact  group  with  a few  outlying  detached  fragments.  In 
the  former  the  detached  Arapaho  and  Blackfoot  speak  very 
widely  divergent  Algonquian  languages  and  if  we  admit 
Sapir’s  identification  of  Wishoskan  (Wiyot)  and  Weits- 
pekan  (Yurok),  we  have  representatives  still  farther  re- 
moved geographically  and  correspondingly  divergent.  The 
Cheyenne  appear  somewhat  less  divergent  than  the  Arapaho 
but  we  have  historical  reasons  for  believing  their  separation 
from  the  main  body  to  be  recent.25  On  general  grounds,  it 
has  been  proposed  that  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Siouan 
stock  was  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  where  representatives  were 
found,  but  it  appears  that  the  Biloxi  of  the  Gulf  Coast  are 
nearer  the  central  linguistic  types  than  those  farther  east.26 
We  see  here  a tendency  for  the  outlying  groups  to  be  more 
divergent  from  the  main  body  than  those  nearer,  a relation 
favoring  the  view  that  these  detached  groups  represent 
stragglers,  but,  whether  laggards  or  true  wanderers,  is  dif- 
ficult to  decide.  In  the  author’s  opinion  the  probabilities 
favor  the  latter.  Reasoning  from  the  marginal  phenomenon 
of  faunistic  distribution,  it  has  often  been  assumed  that  the 
very  small  stocks  on  the  coast  belts  represent  the  survivals  of 
the  more  primitive  groups.  This  view  seems  to  have  some 
justification,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated  that  these 
stocks  are  the  more  archaic  forms  of  language.  Hence,  this 
interpretation  so  far  as  it  applies  to  language,  must  be  re- 
garded with  caution.  The  unfortunate  fact  is  that  not  even 
a beginning  has  been  made  with  the  chronological  problem 
in  aboriginal  linguistics,  so  that  we  can  not  hazard  a guess 
as  to  when  the  various  stocks  came  into  existence. 

1.  Gallatin,  1836.  I.  5.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1913.  I. 

2.  Powell,  1891.  I.  6.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1913.  I. 

3.  Swanton,  1915.  I.  7.  Sapir,  1915.  I. 

4.  Sapir,  1913.  I.  8.  Goddard,  1914.  I. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  STOCKS 


323 


9 Powell,  1891.  I;  Boas  (editor), 
1911.  I. 

10.  Thomas  and  Swanton,  1911.  I. 

11.  Chamberlain,  1913.  I;  Brinton, 
1891.  I. 

12.  Boas,  1916.  II. 

13.  Goddard,  1905.  I. 

14.  Kroeber,  1911.  I. 

15.  Sapir,  1911.  I. 

16.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1903.  I. 


17.  Sapir,  1915.  I. 

18.  Speck,  1907.  I. 

19.  Swanton,  1915.  I. 

20.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1903.  I. 

21.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1913.  I. 

22.  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1919.  I. 

23.  Sapir,  1916.  I. 

24.  Sapir,  1915.  I. 

25.  Michelson,  1912.  I. 

26.  Dorsey  and  Swanton,  1912.  I. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


SOMATIC  CLASSIFICATION 

We  come  now  to  the  man  of  the  New  World  himself, 
instead  of  his  works.  While  it  may  be  more  logical  to  begin 
here,  the  discussions  under  this  head  also  call  for  a general 
understanding  of  the  geography  and  relative  distributions 
of  all  other  characters.  Further,  this  study  of  man  presents 
certain  technical  difficulties  which  make  it  unsuitable  for  the 
first  introduction  to  our  subject.  The  fundamental  difficulty 
has  been  to  find  a definite  and  consistent  basis  of  classifica- 
tion. For  example,  the  system  developed  by  systematic 
zoology  is  not  strictly  applicable,  because  the  existing  peo- 
ples of  the  earth  are  very  near  to  each  other.  Our  expe- 
rience with  zoological  classification  leads  us  to  expect  that 
when  we  offer  a morphological  grouping  of  mankind,  we 
shall  base  it  upon  descent.  While  this  may  be  asking  too 
much  of  a mere  classification,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  here  is  the  real  problem  in  the  case.  Thus,  in  the  New 
World,  we  must  eventually  know  from  what  kind  of  men 
the  original  stock  sprang  and  what  elements,  if  any,  have 
been  later  assimilated  by  it. 

The  most  obvious  method  of  approach  to  this  solution  is 
by  morphological  analysis  of  the  main  geographical  groups. 
First,  if  we  take  the  New  World  as  a whole,  certain  com- 
mon characters  may  be  taken  as  significant.  For  one  thing, 
the  hair  of  the  New  World  tends  to  be  straight  and  black; 
indeed,  the  variations  from  this  are  so  rare  that  we  may 
consider  straight  black  hair  as  universal.  The  only  other 
part  of  the  world  where  this  is  a distinguishing  character  is 
in  Asia,  particularly  among  Mongoloid  peoples.  A close 

324 


Bureau  American  Ethnology 

A Pawnee  Indian  Geronimo , Apache 

Fig.  69.  North  American  Types 


Loucheux  Man  and  Woman  Shozmng  Eskimo  Characters 
Boas,  1901.  I 


Photographs  by  Ehrenreich 


Fig.  7o.  Brazilian  Types 


Fig.  7 1.  Patagonian  Types 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


325 


view  of  the  hair  of  mankind,  as  a whole,  indicates  great 
stability  as  to  type,  in  consequence  of  which  many  anthro- 
pologists make  it  the  basis  of  the  first  classification.  We 
may,  therefore,  set  down  the  above  affinity  with  Mongoloid 
peoples  as  one  very  strong  indication  of  common  descent. 

A few  exceptions  to  straight  hair  have  been  found  in 
South  America  under  conditions  that  make  it  unlikely  that 
they  are  of  European  origin.1  However,  a great  deal  more 
field-work  will  be  necessary  before  this  point  can  be  made 
clear.  If,  however,  it  proves  out  that  an  element  of  wavy 
hair  once  entered  the  New  World  population,  we  shall  have 
good  ground  for  suspecting  a non-Asiatic  origin  for  at  least 
one  New  World  strain. 

Skin  color  is  rather  an  elusive  matter,  since  its  gradations 
do  not  admit  of  very  precise  definition.  Some  anthropolo- 
gists see  the  basic  color  of  the  New  World  as  yellow,  others 
as  brown.  The  yellow  is  clearly  present  in  many  tribes  of 
Brazil  and  on  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  but  the 
remaining  portions  of  both  continents  show  populations 
ranging  from  dark  chocolate  to  light  brown.  According  to 
our  own  observation,  this  light  color  turns  toward  yellow, 
and  the  assumption  of  an  original  yellow  race  is  fully  justi- 
fied. This,  again,  suggests  Asiatic  affinities,  but  just  what 
may  be  the  history  of  this  dark  strain  in  the  yellow  is  not 
clear. 

The  nose  has  also  been  considered  as  Mongoloid,  but  as  it 
presents  great  variety  of  form  in  both  the  north  and  the 
south  and  is  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  nose  of  the 
Pacific  Islands  and  some  other  parts  of  the  Old  World,  no 
great  stress  can  be  laid  upon  it,  at  least,  until  very  carefully 
studied.  Again,  one  of  the  most  striking  facial  characters 
of  Mongolian  peoples  is  the  eye  fold,  or,  in  popular  lan- 
guage, the  “slanting  eye.”  A number  of  observers  claim  to 
see  faint  traces  of  this  in  the  Indian,  but  we  should  proceed 
with  caution  where  the  resemblances  are  so  vague.  Yet,  a 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


326 

recent  author2  asserts  its  positive  identification  in  the  An- 
dean region  and  also  in  parts  of  the  Amazon  country.  In 
North  America,  it  is  prominent  among  the  Eskimo  and  ap- 
pears in  Siberia,  which  fact  gives  us  continuity  with  Asia. 

BREADTH  OF  FACE 

In  popular  belief,  the  aboriginal  face  is  broad  in  respect  to 
the  width  of  the  head,  or  “the  cheek  bones  are  prominent,” 
resulting  in  what  is  sometimes  characterized  as  a dishar- 
monic  face.  This  belief  is,  in  the  main,  justified,  when  we 
review  the  measurements  that  have  been  made.  The  studies 
of  Boas3  and  Jenks4  upon  mixed-blood  Indians  in  the 
United  States,  show  that  the  relative  width  of  face  among 
these  is  still  greater  than  in  case  of  whites,  while  reference 
to  the  accompanying  table  shows  a very  positive  difference 
between  the  whites  and  full-blood  Indians,  in  both  North 
and  South  America.  Thus,  it  is  generally  true  that  the  New 
World  peoples  are  characterized  by  broad  faces.  This  fea- 
ture is  strongly  accented  in  the  Eskimo,  but  not  sufficiently 
to  place  them  in  a class  by  themselves.  Of  Old  World  peo- 
ples, the  broad  faces  are  chiefly  among  Asiatics. 


VALUES  OF  FACE-BREADTH  HEAD-BREADTH  INDEX  FOR  MALES 

(Compiled  from  Jenks5) 


Nationality 

Number 

Index 

Scotch 

50 

90.34 

French 

100 

90.85 

Mixed-Indian 

60 

94.68 

Mixed-Indian 

8 

92.14 

Mixed-Indian 

12 

92.52 

Mixed-Peruvian 

24 

90.40 

Ojibway 

24 

97.19 

Mexican 

2300 

94.90 

Apache 

148 

94.30 

Pima 

5i 

98.63 

Peruvian 

124 

95.30 

SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


327 


FLATTENING  OF  THE  FEMUR 

Another  anatomical  trait  supposed  to  characterize  native 
Americans  is  an  excessive  flattening  of  the  femur,  or  platy - 
meria.  A resume  of  the  literature,  however,  leaves  one  in 
doubt  that  any  such  variation  can  be  definitely  assigned  to 
the  New  World  as  a whole,  though  some  reports  of  Hrd- 
licka  6 suggest  that  Indians  differ  from  whites  and  negroes. 
The  same  can  be  stated  for  flattening  of  the  tibia,  or  platyc - 
nemia.  If  the  theory  of  Manouvrier  that  the  phenomenon 
is  dependent  upon  the  muscular  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual, is  accepted,  then  these  flattenings  of  the  shafts  have 
no  racial  significance.  (For  a brief  resume,  see  Duck- 
worth.7) 

Another  curious  femoral  variation  is  the  presence  of  a 
third  trochanter,  which  Duckworth  believes  is,  to  a certain 
extent,  correlated  with  platymeria.  The  most  convenient 
frequency  table  so  far  compiled  is  that  of  Deniker,8  which 
shows  a range  from  13  per  cent,  for  prehistoric  Europe  to 
64  per  cent,  for  the  Fuegians  of  the  New  World.  The  great 
frequency  of  this  trochanter  among  the  Fuegians  raises  a 
suspicion  as  to  the  remainder  of  the  New  World,  but  satis- 
factory published  data  are  wanting. 

THE  TEETH 

In  recent  years  a great  deal  of  attention  has  been  given  to 
the  teeth  of  mammals  and  man.  Interest  in  human  teeth  has 
been  stimulated  by  such  epoch-making  Old  World  discov- 
eries as  the  Pithecanthropus  and  the  Mauer  jaw,  because  the 
associated  teeth  seemed  to  be  morphologically  intermediate 
to  modern  man  and  the  anthropoids.  It  was  inevitable 
therefore  that  the  teeth  of  the  different  living  races  should 
be  carefully  scrutinized  and  while  the  problem  is  still  in  the 
pioneer  stage,  a few  significant  results  are  at  hand.  The 


328 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


most  distinctive  tooth  character  in  the  New  World  is  the 
shovel-shaped  incisor. 

This  character  has  been  recently  reviewed  by  Hrdlicka9 
showing  that,  so  far  as  the  data  at  hand  go,  more  than  90 
per  cent  of  the  Indians  show  this  peculiarity  in  unmistak- 
able form.  While  the  character  is  thus  not  invariable  to  the 
extent  that  an  Indian  can  be  absolutely  identified  by  his  in- 
cisor teeth,  its  frequency  is  great  enough  to  make  it  an  im- 
portant qualitative  character.  Among  the  peoples  so  far 
examined  this  peculiarity  is  most  pronounced  among  the 
Mongoloids  of  Asia  and  rarest  among  Europeans  and 
American  negroes.  (The  data  given  by  Hrdlicka  runs: 
white,  6;  negro,  10;  Hawaiian,  47;  Chinese,  60;  Japanese, 
85;  Indian,  91.0).  Thus,  shovel-shaped  incisors  may  be 
set  down  as  one  of  the  most  distinctive  of  aboriginal  char- 
acters. 

Again  the  patterns  of  the  molar  teeth  promise  to  be  of 
some  significance.  Thus  Sullivan  10  notes  that  the  number 
of  cusps  on  the  lower  molar  teeth  vary  from  four  to  five, 
and  while  it  has  not  been  possible  yet  to  extend  his  observa- 
tions to  all  parts  of  the  continent,  it  appears  that  among  the 
American  Indians  approximately  75  per  cent  show  five 
cusps.  Unfortunately,  there  are  at  hand  no  data  for  the 
Mongoloids  of  Asia,  but  the  white  race  ranges  from  6 to  2 
per  cent,  the  negro  around  35  per  cent.  The  Australian,  on 
the  other  hand,  ranks  but  slightly  below  the  Indian. 

Note  may  also  be  taken  of  comparative  observations  on 
the  bite  as  recorded  by  Heilman.11 


In  the  importance  of  these  observations,  particularly  the 
last,  the  possibilities  of  modification  by  function  should  not 


Indians 

Eskimo 


Edge  to  edge  bite. 
Edge  to  edge  bite. 
Tend  to  over-bite. 
Somewhat  over-bite. 


Mongolians 

Hindus 


White  Americans  Somewhat  over-bite. 


SOMATIC  CHARACTER'S 


329 


be  ignored.  But  taking  the  data  as  they  now  stand,  both 
human  and  mammalian,  shovel-shaped  incisors,  five  cusped 
molars,  and  edge  to  edge  bite  are  the  more  primitive,  or 
older,  tooth  characters.  In  the  most  distinctive  of  these 
characters,  shovel-shaped  incisors,  the  peoples  of  the  New 
World  again  show  a close  relationship  to  the  Mongoloids. 
It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  further  investigation  of  this 
subject  is  urgent,  since  here  appears  one  of  the  most  promis- 
ing leads  in  the  problem  of  man’s  origin  and  differentiation. 
What  is  especially  needed  is  a careful  survey  of  all  Ameri- 
can and  Asiatic  skeletal  material  and  a careful  plotting  of 
distribution  for  the  several  tooth  characters,  the  data  to  be 
supplemented  by  observations  upon  the  living.  With  such 
in  hand  one  could  proceed  to  the  underlying  biological 
problems  with  full  confidence. 

This  about  exhausts  the  list  of  widely  diffused  common 
characters  for  the  New  World  as  a whole.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  somatic  line-up  is  with  the  Mongoloid  peoples,  and, 
while  we  are  facing  this  way,  attention  may  well  be  called 
to  other  similarities  asserted  by  certain  observers.  Posnan- 
sky  12  reports  the  Mongolian  spot  in  the  Andean  area,  and 
an  anatomical  peculiarity  of  the  cranium  in  the  maxillar  or 
region  of  the  processus  frontalis  which  is  absent  in  the 
European,  but  prominent  in  Mongolian  crania.  It  seems 
best,  however,  to  defer  further  discussion  of  this  subject 
until  we  have  considered  the  differentiation  of  internal  New 
World  types  and  their  distributions. 

HEAD  FORM 

Head  form  has  received  so  much  attention  that  it  almost 
monopolizes  the  subject  matter  of  physical  anthropology. 
As  to  what  extent  this  is  justifiable,  remains  to  be  seen. 
The  special  literature  for  the  New  World  contains  a large 
mass  of  measurements,  both  on  crania  and  heads  of  living 
subjects,  from  which  we  can  form  some  idea  of  their  classi- 


330 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  72.  The  Cephalic  Index 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS  331 

ficatory  value.  The  most  conventional  of  these  measure- 
ments is  the  cephalic  index,  or  the  maximum  breadth  of 
head  divided  by  the  maximum  length  and  the  quotient  ex- 
pressed in  per  cent.  Ripley  has  plotted  the  distribution  of 
this  index  on  a map  of  the  world,13  but  an  inspection  of  this 
suggests  that  the  New  World  cannot  be  sharply  differ- 
entiated on  the  basis  of  the  cephalic  index  alone.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  the  broadest  heads  are  here  accredited  to 
Asia  and  the  longest  have  minor  representation  in  the  New 
World,  which  would  give  our  hemisphere  a kind  of  inter- 
mediate position.  Yet,  we  should  not  give  much  weight  to 
qhe  specific  boundaries  indicated  upon  such  a map  because 
the  cephalic  index  numerals  have  been  arbitrarily  grouped. 
A better  method  would  be  to  plot  according  to  each  numeri- 
cal unit  of  difference.  To  do  this  successfully,  we  must 
use  a large  map  and  enter  in  its  proper  place  the  actual 
cephalic  index  for  each  group  of  people.  A condensed  form 
of  such  a map  for  the  New  World  is  presented  here  (Fig. 

72).* 

From  this  it  appears  that  we  have  the  most  data  for  the 
United  States,  but,  in  general,  all  the  larger  parts  of  both 
continents  are  represented  in  some  fashion.  Notwithstand- 
ing such  discrepancies,  the  data  as  given  should  approxi- 
mately outline  the  general  distribution  of  the  cephalic  index. 

Perhaps  the  first  impression  we  get  from  this  map  is  one 
of  great  range  and  variability.  The  scattered  index  values 
may  even  suggest  a random  distribution.  Yet,  it  appears 
that  the  lowest  values  tend  to  cluster  around  certain  points, 
as  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  southeastern  Brazil,  and  south- 
ern Patagonia,  while  the  highest  seem  to  mass  on  the  Pacific 
side  of  both  continents.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  regard 

* The  cephalic  indices  appearing  on  this  map  are  based  upon  skull  measurements, 
but  contain  also  those  reported  for  living  subjects.  The  special  works  upon 
craniometry  give  the  accepted  methods  for  reducing  the  latter  to  units  of  the 
former.  The  indices  are  from  the  published  notes  of  all  observers;  hence,  some 
allowance  must  always  be  made  for  errors  of  observation,  though  in  the  long  run 
these  should  cancel  out. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


332 

the  numerical  range  of  index  units,  it  appears  that  the  total 
New  World  series  falls  but  little  short  of  that  for  the  Old 
World.  In  fact,  both  the  lowest  and  highest  cephalic  indices 
recorded  by  Martin  14  are  from  the  New  World:  Pericues 
(Lower  California),  66.1 ; Californians,  89.7.  The  indices 
used  in  our  map  range  as  follows : 

71  72  73  74  75  76  77  78  79  80  81  82  83  84  85  86  87 
125  1 5 3 9 14  10  8 8 36  11  222 

Such  lack  of  distinction  between  the  two  hemispheres  in 
contrast  to  what  we  found  true  of  other  characters  leads 
one  to  suspect  that  head  form  is  exceedingly  variable. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  noted  that  investigations 
among  the  immigrant  population  of  the  United  States,  and 
also  among  the  inhabitants  of  Porto  Rico 15  reveal  a rapid 
change  in  cephalic  index.  This  suggests  that  there  are 
some  powerful  environmental  and  physiological  factors  in 
the  cause  complex  that  produces  head  form.  As  compared 
with  heredity,  these  are  minor  factors,  but  still  strong 
enough  to  produce  modifications  of  several  numerical  units 
in  the  calculated  indices.  Certain  empirical  observations 
led  Boas  to  assume  a change  of  five  to  six  units  possible  in 
a few  generations.  Unfortunately,  all  these  observations 
have  been  upon  Europeans,  but  it  seems  a fair  assumption 
that  if  the  principle  is  found  to  hold  for  one,  it  will  also 
hold  for  the  other. 

In  the  earlier  parts  of  this  chapter  we  found  evidences  of 
homogeneity,  and  though  there  is  a perplexing  range  of 
variation  in  head  form,  the  question  still  remains  as  to 
whether  these  fluctuations  are  not  mere  pulsations  around  a 
single  norm.  If  such  they  prove  to  be,  then  we  have  homo- 
geneity in  head  form  as  well  as  in  other  characters.  This 
is  a difficult  problem,  but  some  approach  to  its  solution  can 
be  made  by  statistical  methods. 

First,  on  a priori  grounds,  we  have  a right  to  expect  that 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


833 

if  more  than  one  type  of  cephalic  index  exists  here  in  the 
New  World,  the  observed  indices  for  the  successive  groups 
of  natives  will  tend  to  cluster  around  separate  nodes,  or 
norms,  when  we  treat  them  as  a series.  To  apply  this  test, 
we  have  collected  all  the  observations  that  the  literature  of 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  GROUP  AVERAGES  FOR  NEW  WORLD  NATIVES 


Skull  Index 


Head  Index 


Skull  Length 


Skull  Breadth 


68 

1 

68 

150-2 

2 

125-7 

1 

69 

0 

69 

153-5 

2 

128-30 

5 

70 

1 

70 

156-8 

I 

I3I-3 

7 

7i 

2 

7i 

1 

159-61 

7 

134-6 

13 

72 

6 

72 

0 

163-4 

5 

137-9 

30 

73 

10 

73 

0 

165-7 

11 

140-2 

27 

74 

7 

74 

2 

168-70 

9 

143-5 

21 

75 

10 

75 

0 

1 71-3 

13 

146-8 

11 

76 

8 

76 

2 

174-6 

22 

149-51 

6 

77 

15 

77 

3 

177-9 

13 

152-4 

5 

78 

13 

78 

3 

180-2 

18 

155-7 

7 

79 

11 

79 

7 

183-5 

1 7 

158-60 

2 

80 

12 

80 

15 

186-8 

7 

161-3 

2 

81 

14 

81 

14 

189-91 

5 

164 

1 

82 

4 

82 

14 

182-3 

1 

83 

4 

83 

9 

138 

84 

11 

84 

15 

133 

85 

3 

85 

7 

86 

5 

86 

3 

87 

5 

87 

1 

88 

5 

88 

1 

89 

2 

89 

3 

149 


Av.  174.8  ±9.15  Av.  141.3  ± 7-oo 


the  subject  brought  to  our  notice  and  combined  them  into  a 
single  series.  For  precision,  we  have  tabulated  the  indices 
for  skulls  and  living  subjects  separately,  and  for  further 
check  upon  the  result  we  have  tabulated  absolute  skull 
measurements  for  length  and  breadth  of  head. 

Close  inspection  of  these  distributions  suggests  that  the 
two  for  the  cephalic  index  will  be  found  to  approximate 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


334 

the  normal,  or  symmetrical  type,  found  in  homogeneous 
groups.  Also,  the  series  for  absolute  length  and  breadth  of 
head  show  fairly  symmetrical  distributions.  From  all  this 
one  may  suspect  that  there  is,  after  all,  but  one  type  of  head 
form  for  the  New  World. 

It  should  be  noted  that  we  are  here  treating  the  successive 
social  groups  like  individuals.  Thus,  if  we  wish  to  arrive 
at  the  head  form  for  a social  group,  we  take  individuals  at 
random  and  calculate  from  these  observations  the  most  prob- 
able average  value.  In  exactly  the  same  manner,  we  may 
take  these  values  for  groups  in  the  New  World  and  place 
them  in  a series.  When  we  do  this,  we  again  find  a typical 
distribution  suggesting  homogeneity.  However,  as  it  stands, 
this  result  should  be  taken  only  as  a suggestion,  for  there 
are  many  complicating  factors  to  be  considered.  The  whole 
problem  awaits  further  investigation,  and  SO'  cannot  be 
profitably  considered  here.  That  the  general  assumption 
we  have  made  is  consistent  with  other  somatic  data  is  obvi- 
ous, for  if  the  people  of  the  New  World  spring  from  a sin- 
gle stock  then  the  observed  deviations  of  head  form  are  but 
the  normal  variations  of  a biological  character. 

In  a general  discussion  of  the  whole  subject,  Boas  16  states 
that  as  the  population  expanded  over  the  New  World,  it 
scattered  out  into  more  or  less  isolated  local  groups,  whose 
inbreeding  soon  differentiated  varieties  of  head  form  and 
other  features.  In  other  words,  these  were  the  natural  ran- 
dom fluctuations  around  the  fundamental  type  and  are  prob- 
ably not  permanent  characters,  all  of  which  is  consistent 
with  their  erratic  geographic  distribution.  It  may  be,  there- 
fore, that  the  longer  headed  Algonkins  and  Patagonians  are 
merely  the  result  of  greater  marginal  isolation  rather  than 
survivors  of  a previous  long-headed  population. 

At  the  outset,  we  stated  that  the  New  World  could  make 
some  claim  to  an  intermediate  position  in  head  form.  If 
we  take  the  averages  of  the  lengths  and  breadths  of  head 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


335 


tabulated  on  p.  333,  we  find  a length  of  175  cm.  and  a 
breadth  of  141  cm.  Martin  17  places  the  extremes  of  the 
world  at  143-225  for  length,  and  101-173  for  breadth,  from 
which  it  appears  that  our  natives  are  grouped  around  the 
middle  values.  Further,  since  the  extremes  in  our  tables 
fall  short  of  those  for  the  world  as  a whole,  we  are  justified 
in  the  conclusion  that  in  absolute  dimensions  of  head  the 
New  World  is  truly  intermediate,  but  that  in  respect  to  head 
form  as  expressed  by  the  cephalic  index,  approximately  the 
whole  known  range  is  found. 

The  investigations  of  the  Australian  school  of  anthropo- 
logists have  demonstrated  the  great  comparative  significance 
of  the  height  of  the  head.18  We  may  suspect,  therefore, 
that  the  native  of  the  New  World  will  show  some  distinc- 
tions in  this  character,  but,  as  is  often  the  case,  sufficient 
data  are  not  available  for  a satisfactory  conclusion.  Mar- 
tin 19  gives  the  range  of  absolute  height  of  skull  as  125  to 
143  mm.  and  cites  certain  Californians  as  129,  Dakota  as 
131,  and  Eskimo  as  135.  This  is  not  very  promising  as  a 
definitive  character,  since  we  have  about  the  whole  range  in 
the  New  World  alone.  Further,  when  we  consider  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  recorded  values  they  seem  to  occur  at  ran- 
dom over  both  continents  and  when  all  are  treated  as  com- 
ponents of  a single  series,  we  get  the  normal  frequency 
curve.  The  suggestion  is,  therefore,  that  we  have  in  the 
height  of  the  skull  for  the  New  World  a character  that 
shows  considerable  range  of  variation,  but  which,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  of  one  distinct  type.  However,  at  present 
this  must  remain  a mere  suggestion. 

The  obvious  difficulty  with  somatic  characters  is  their 
lack  of  qualitative  distinctions.  Stature,  for  example,  can 
only  be  dealt  with  in  a variable  series,  it  being  impossible 
to  identify  an  American  Indian  as  such  by  his  stature.  We 
have  seen  that  the  same  is  true  of  head  form.  In  general, 
wherever  anatomical  characters  are  reduced  to  measure- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


336 

ments  that  is  in  itself  a confession  of  our  inability  to  make 
qualitative  distinctions.  Such  traits  as  pigmentation  and 
hair  have  long  stood  out  as  the  dominant,  if  not  altogether 
satisfactory,  qualitative  characters,  but  to  these  we  may 
now  add  certain  markings  on  the  teeth,  as  previously  stated. 

ORBITS  AND  NASAL  SKELETON 

A great  deal  of  attention  has  been  given  to  the  form  of 
the  eye  sockets  or  orbits,  and  the  nasal  skeleton.  The  former 
takes  a quadrilateral  form  whose  varying  breadth  and 
height  can  be  measured.  The  relation  of  the  latter  to  the 
former  is  expressed  as  the  orbital  index.  The  tabulation 
of  such  data  as  we  found  in  the  literature  presents  a sym- 
metrical distribution  with  an  approximate  node  at  87.  As 
in  the  case  of  other  characters  we  find  the  orbits  of  each 
local  group  to  vary,  but  all  to  cluster  about  a single  norm. 
Since  there  are  several  ways  of  measuring  the  orbit  and 
the  several  authors  are  not  often  explicit  as  to  the  method 
employed,  the  above  result  should  be  regarded  as  tentative. 
Both  Deniker 20  and  Martin 21  have  compiled  standard  lists 
of  this  index,  which  furnish  the  additional  series  in  our 
table.  The  series  we  have  for  the  New  World  is  of  the 
symmetrical  type  which  gives  us  greater  confidence  in  its 
mean  value.  Martin 22  regards  the  Fuegian  as  in  the  lowest 
class,  with  the  Tasmanian  and  Australian,  while  the  Pata- 
gonian and  Indians  in  general  have  very  high  indices,  as 
also  do  the  Eskimo  and  Mongolians.  It  appears,  therefore, 
that  the  New  World  as  a whole  falls  in  the  same  class  as  do 
Asiatics,  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  high  values  are  not 
unusual  elsewhere.  Thus,  we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  orbit 
is  a definitive  character. 

The  skeletal  structure  of  the  nose  affords  further  oppor- 
tunity for  measurement.  The  reader  interested  in  the  tech- 
nical details  of  the  subject  may  consult  the  very  concise  and 
convenient  statement  of  Deniker,23  together  with  a tabula- 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


337 


tion  of  nasal  indices  for  representative  groups  from  all 

parts  of  the  world.  This  index 

is  analogous  to  that  for  the 

orbit,  expressing  the  relation 

between  the  height  of  the 

nasal  bones  and  their  width. 

From  the  recorded  indices, 

it  appears  that  the  white  race  is 

at  one  end  of  the  series  and 

the  negro  at  the  other.24  Just  where  our  natives  will  fall 

is  not  yet  clear,  but  in  last  analysis  our  conclusion  must 

DISTRIBUTION  TABLE  FOR 

THE  ORBITAL  INDEX 

The  New  World 

All  Races 

Deniker  25  Martin  26 

76 

1 

77 

1 

78 

0 

79  r 

2 

80  2 

0 

81  0 

3 1 

82  1 

0 2 

83  3 

2 3 

84  3 

6 5 

85  2 

4 4 

86  3 

4 6 

87  9 

4 1 

88  6 

4 7 

89  6 

6 4 

90  4 

3 2 

91  2 

3 4 

92  1 

6 1 

93  2 

94  0 

95  1 

96  0 

97  1 

rest  upon  qualitative  observations,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of 
our  leading  anthropologists  that  there  is  a recognizable 
form  for  the  nasal  opening  of  New  World  peoples  as  a 
whole.  In  a recent  review  of  the  subject  Sullivan  shows 
that  the  minute  form  of  the  lower  border  of  the  nasal  aper- 
ture, or  the  apertura  pyriformis,  takes  on  a rounded,  or  in- 
fantile, form  among  the  Indians.  This  is  also  highly  char- 
acteristic of  Mongoloids. 


1338  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

In  conclusion,  then,  we  find  in  the  New  World  face  and 
head  many  indications  of  somatic  homogeneity  strongly 
suggesting  unity  of  origin.  A more  positive  statement, 
while  greatly  to  be  desired,  must  await  new  searching  in- 
vestigation, for  the  problem  is  peculiarly  intricate  and  the 
available  data,  so  far,  inadequate. 

BODILY  PROPORTIONS 

Among  the  many  other  aspects  of  somatological  descrip- 
tion that  promise  well,  is  bodily  proportion.  This  is  usually 
expressed  in  diagrammatic  form,  as  in  Fig.  73.  Though 
there  are  many  published  measurements  of  New  World 
natives,  in  few  cases  do  they  give  sufficient  data  for  the 
construction  of  such  diagrams.  In  fact,  the  four  we  have 
here  about  exhaust  the  subject.  Yet,  they  show  a striking 
similarity  in  form  and  proportions,  suggesting  that  the 
New  World  native  is  of  one  bodily  type. 

This  method  of  comparison  seems  to  have  been  devised 
by  Thomson 27  from  whom  three  of  the  diagrams  in 
Fig.  74  are  taken.  If  these  are  accurately  constructed, 
there  are  obvious  differences  between  the  Indian  and  other 
races.  However,  our  present  purpose  is  to  show  that  even 
in  bodily  form  there  is  evidence  of  New  World  unity. 

SUMMARY  OF  SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 

In  this  brief  review  of  a large  subject,  we  have  sought, 
first  of  all,  the  characters  truly  definitive  of  New  World 
man.  The  difficulties  besetting  such  a quest  are  now  ap- 
parent, but  a summary  of  some  kind  is  necessary  to 
progress.  Accordingly,  on  the  basis  of  the  preceding  and 
the  available  studies,  the  following  is  offered : — 

1.  The  hair  is  straight,  of  medium  coarseness,  and  black. 
Body  hair  scant.  The  skin  color  is  a brown,  ranging  from 
yellowish  to  chocolate  tones.  Eyes  tend  to  be  dark  brown. 

2.  The  head  is  quite  variable  as  to  length  and  breadth, 


SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 


339 

but  appears  to  approximate  an  intermediate  position  in  the 
world’s  series.  On  the  other  hand,  the  face  is  broad  in 
proportion  to  the  head.  As  to  facial  angle,  there  is  mod- 
erate prognathism,  and  this,  as  well  as  size  of  mouth,  thick- 
ness of  lips,  proportions  of  nose,  size  of  teeth,  takes  an  inter- 
mediate rank  between  whites  and  negroes.  Finally,  there 
is  a slight  slant  to  the  eye,  reminding  one  of  certain  Asiatics. 

3.  The  incisor  teeth  are  markedly  concave,  or  shovel- 
shaped and  the  lower  second  molars  tend  to  five  cusps  in- 
stead of  the  usual  four. 

4.  In  bodily  proportions  we  note  first  an  intermediate 
position  between  whites  and  negroes  with  respect  to  length 
of  arms  and  legs.  The  hands  and  feet  are  relatively  small. 
The  capacity  of  head  and  estimated  brain  weights  also  give 
intermediate  values. 

RELATIONS  TO  MANKIND  IN  GENERAL 

Assuming  for  the  time,  at  least,  the  single  origin  of  all 
New  World  peoples,  we  may  now  turn  to  the  question  in 
which  all  are  interested,  viz.,  the  relation  of  the  Indian  to 
mankind  in  general.  As  has  often  been  stated,  the  affinities 
of  New  World  man  are  with  Mongolians  and,  to  a less 
marked  degree,  with  Polynesians.  With  the  former  we 
have  close  parallels  in  hair,  form  of  eye,  breadth  of  face, 
and  bodily  proportions.  With  the  Polynesians,  the  agree- 
ments are  chiefly  in  pigmentation  and  to  some  extent,  in  the 
hair.  Hrdlicka 28  has  formulated  a convenient  statement  of 
the  problem,  which  may  serve  as  our  point  of  departure  : — 

The  conclusions,  therefore,  are:  the  American  natives  represent  in 
the  main  a single  stem  or  strain  of  people,  one  homotype;  this  stem 
is  identical  with  that  of  the  yellow-brown  races  of  Asia  and  Polynesia  ; 
and  the  main  immigration  of  the  Americans  has  taken  place,  in  the 
main,  at  least,  gradually  and  by  the  northwestern  route  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  recent  period,  after  man  had  reached  a relatively  high 
stage  of  physical  development  and  multiple  secondary  differentiations. 
The  immigration,  in  all  probability,  was  a dribbling  and  prolonged 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


340 

overflow,  likely  due  to  pressure  from  behind,  or  want,  and  a search 
for  better  hunting  and  fishing  grounds  in  the  direction  where  no  re- 
sistance of  man  as  yet  existed.  This  was  followed  by  multiplication, 
spread,  and  numerous  minor  differentiations  of  language  due  to  iso- 
lation and  other  natural  conditions,  and  by  the  development,  on  the 
basis  of  what  was  transported,  of  more  or  less  localized  American 


Quechua 


Yahgan 


Fig.  73.  Diagrammatic  Representation  of  Average  Bodily  Forms  for 
the  Eskimo  ( Duckworth , 1900.  /),  the  Quechua  {Ferns,  1916.  I),  the 
Bakain  ( Ehrenreich , 1897.  I),  and  the  Yahgan  ( Deniker , 1900.  /) 

cultures.  It  is  also  probable  that  the  western  coast  of  America,  within 
the  last  2,000  years,  was  on  more  than  one  occasion  reached  by  small 
parties  of  Polynesians,  and  that  the  eastern  coast  was  similarly  reached 
by  small  groups  of  whites,  and  that  such  parties  may  have  locally 
influenced  the  culture  of  the  Americans ; but  such  accretions  have 
nowhere,  as  far  as  we  know  to-day,  modified  the  native  population. 

Such  conclusions  must,  in  last  analysis,  rest  upon  a satis- 
factory classification  of  mankind  as  a whole,  but  as  stated 


SYSTEMS  OF  CLASSIFICATION 


34i 


at  the  outset,  this  has  proved  a difficult  problem,  and  the 
reader  will  find  the  literature  of  the  subject  very  perplexing, 
each  investigator  proposing  a different  scheme.  Upon 
analysis,  however,  we  find  these  schemes  have  a great  deal 


Fig.  74.  Bodily  Forms  from  Various  Races:  Sioux  Indians  ( Sullivan , 

1920.  II);  Negro  and  Australian  ( Thompson , 1889.  I);  and  Amherst 
Students  ( Hitchcock , 1888.  I) 

in  common  and,  hence,  are  fairly  intelligible.  In  the  first 
place,  they  fall  into  two  groups  according  to  the  controlling 
concepts.  One  of  these  classifications  is  purely  objective 
and  empirical,  no  regard  being  paid  to  ancestral  relations  or 
other  related  factors,  while  in  the  other,  the  ideal  is  to  form 
a classificatory  scheme  that  will  express  genetic  relation- 
ships. The  exposition  of  these  systems  does  not  fall  within 
the  scope  of  this  work,  but  a few  of  their  main  features  may 
be  noted. 

Taking  men  as  they  come,  experience  shows  that  the  most 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


342 

definitive  objective  characters  are  hair,  skin  color,  and  head- 
face  form.  Of  these,  the  first  is  most  persistently  trans- 
mitted from  parent  to  offspring,  and  so  tends  to  remain  con- 
stant. In  the  main,  three  kinds  of  hair  are  recognized : 
straight,  wavy,  and  woolly,  each  having  a distinctive  cross- 
section  and  associated  peculiarities.29  With  these  as  the 
points  of  departure,  the  people  of  the  world  fall  into  three 
groups : — 

1.  Straight  hair  (leiotrichi) . The  Asian- American  group. 

2.  Wavy  hair  (cymo trichi) . The  Polynesian- European 
group. 

3.  Woolly  hair  ( ulotrichi ).  The  Australian- African 
group. 

It  is  important  to  note  that,  though  this  grouping  is 
strictly  based  upon  the  hair,  the  majority  of  all  classifica- 
tions recognize  these  three  great  clusters  of  mankind,  their 
differences  arising  from  transferences  of  the  more  doubtful 
examples  from  one  class  to  the  other.  A convenient  sum- 
mary of  the  main  characters  for  each  is  offered  by  Gid- 
dings : 30  — 

I.  The  Australian- African  Group. 

Characteristics:  black  skin,  dolichocephalic  (long-headed), 

prognathic,  woolly  or  frizzly-haired  (cross-section  of  hair 
very  elliptical). 

Area  of  distribution:  Australia  and  Africa  south  of  the  equator. 

II.  The  Polynesian-European  Group. 

Characteristics:  fair  skin,  mesocephalic,  orthognathic,  straight 
or  wavy  hair  (cross-section  slightly  elliptical). 

Area  of  distribution:  broad  zone  from  Polynesia  northwest- 
ward through  southwestern  Asia  and  northern  Africa  and  most 
of  the  continent  of  Europe. 

III.  The  A sian- American  Group. 

Characteristics:  yellow  or  red  skin,  brachycephalic  (broad- 
headed), narrow-eyed,  lank  or  straight-haired  (cylindrical  in 
cross-section). 

Area  of  distribution:  eastern  Asia  and  western  America, 
chiefly  north  of  the  equator  along  the  semicircular  shore-line 
of  Asia  and  America.31 


SYSTEMS  OF  CLASSIFICATION  343 

This  investigator  regards  the  second  or  middle  group  as 
the  main  stem,  the  generalized  ancestral  stock,  from  which 
the  other  two  diverged  and  specialized.  The  American 
aborigines  are  regarded  as  a diverging  branch  of  the  Asiatic 
group.  This  classification,  therefore,  assumes  a genetic 
relation  between  its  main  division  by  selecting  the  Poly- 
nesian-European  type  as  the  generalized,  or  ancestral  type. 
Unfortunately,  in  this  case,  as  in  most  others,  there  is  at 
hand  no  convincing  proof.  The  grouping  by  hair  and  asso- 
ciated characters,  has  proved  of  great  convenience  and  is 
in-so-far  justified;  but  it  cannot  meet  the  needs  of  the  case. 
Recently,  Duckworth  32  offered  a morphological  analysis  of 
man  upon  the  basis  of  which  was  proposed  a different  group- 
ing. In  this  scheme,  the  generalized  type  is  designated  as 
the  Eurasiatic,  embracing  almost  the  entire  population  of 
Europe,  Asia,  and  the  New  World.  It  will  be  observed  that 
in  distribution,  this  type  covers  the  greater  part  of  the  earth 
in  one  continuous  mass.  What  remains  are  the  minor  out- 
lying groups,  as  the  Australians,  Africans,  Andamanese, 
Polynesians,  etc.,  which  are  treated  as  diverging  stems  from 
the  main  body.  The  one  new  feature  of  this  grouping  is 
that  it  correlates  morphological  distinctions  with  the  facts 
of  distribution,  the  significance  of  which  we  shall  consider 
shortly.  On  the  other  hand,  the  morphological  grouping  is 
based  upon  the  same  principles  of  classification  as  are  em- 
ployed in  zoology.  Hence,  Duckworth’s  scheme  is  worthy 
of  the  most  careful  consideration.  The  vital  question  is, 
however,  the  reconstruction  of  the  generalized  ancestral 
type.  This  is  a broad  problem  whose  solution  will  rest 
largely  on  general  paleontological  conceptions  and  the  spe- 
cific study  of  the  primates.  Its  discussion  falls  outside  the 
limits  of  the  chapter,  but  a brief  glance  into  the  special  lit- 
erature of  the  subject  will  show  the  strong  support  that  can 
be  found  for  this  idea.  We  may,  therefore,  adopt  as  our 
working  hypothesis  the  view  that  the  Eurasiatic  type,  to 


344 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


which  the  bulk  of  the  native  population  of  the  New  World 
belongs,  is  the  best  living  representative  of  the  general  type 
hominidce,  and  that  the  remaining  groups  of  mankind  are 
such  as  by  wide  dispersion  and  greater  isolation  became 
more  divergent,  or  specialized.  This  idea  is  also  consistent 
with  culture  data,  for  it  is  exclusively  among  this  general- 
ized main  body  that  the  great  civilizations  of  the  world 
arose;  the  highly  specialized  outlying  groups,  though  show- 
ing sparks  of  true  genius  now  and  then,  never  rise  to  such 
a level. 

The  next  point  to  consider  is  the  distribution  of  mankind 
over  the  earth.  In  the  synthetic  treatment  of  such  a large 
problem,  we  need  the  greatest  possible  array  of  corrective 
data.  While  such  data  cannot  entirely  mitigate  the  weak- 
ness of  all  interpretations  based  upon  incomplete  series  of 
observations,  they,  at  least,  serve  as  friendly  guide-posts. 
If,  instead  of  focusing  our  attention  upon  man  alone,  we 
take  in  the  whole  gamut  of  mammalian  dispersion,  we 
greatly  increase  the  number  of  these  corrective  aids.  Thus, 
a brief  perusal  of  general  books  on  mammalian  life  33  sug- 
gests at  once  the  existence  of  a veritable  swarming  center  in 
the  heart  of  Asia.  It  is  not,  of  course,  contended  that  all 
mammals  arose  there,  but  that  a surprisingly  large  number 
of  the  most  distinctive  families  can  be  successfully  localized 
within  the  general  limits  of  that  continent.  This  is  sup- 
ported by  specific  data  when  we  restrict  our  view  to  the 
primates  alone,  respecting  whose  Asiatic  origin  there  is  no 
dissenting  voice  among  those  competent  to  speak.  The  most 
convenient  presentation  of  the  subject  is  in  Matthew’s  paper 
on  “Climate  and  Evolution,”  whose  sketch  map  we  repro- 
duce here,  together  with  the  chronological  scale  essential  to 
its  interpretation.34  From  this  we  see,  in  a general  way, 
how  the  many  diverse  forms  of  primates  have  swarmed  out 
of  the  Old  World,  one  after  the  other.  We  have,  therefore, 
no  alternative  but  to  conclude  that  the  same  factors  control- 


RACIAL  DISPERSION 


345 


Fig.  75.  Lines  of  Dispersion  for  the  Primates.  Matthew , 1915.  I 


Fig.  76.  Phylogenetic  Relations  of  the  Living  and  Extinct  Groups  of 
Primates.  The  circles  indicate  the  size  and  known  geological  range  of  the 
several  groups,  the  dotted  lines  their  most  probable  derivation.  Their 
supposed  relations  to  certain  Insectivora  and  intermediate  extinct  groups 
are  also  indicated.  Matthew,  1915 . I 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


346 

ling  the  dispersion  of  the  whole  division  of  primates  apply 
also  to  man,  and  that  his  dispersion  will,  in  the  main,  follow 
the  same  beaten  tracks.  With  this  as  a point  of  departure, 
it  is  not  very  difficult  to  form  a satisfactory  statement  of  the 
order  and  direction  of  dispersion  for  the  known  species  and 
varieties  of  hominidce. 

When  we  consider  the  map  in  Fig.  75,  it  appears  that  the 
New  World  is  geographically  more  remote  than  either  Af- 
rica, Europe,  or  the  insular  area,  and  has  but  one  point  of 
contact,  but  that  point  is  in  direct  line  with  the  assumed  cen- 
ter of  dispersion.  On  rqere  geographical  grounds,  we  should 
locate  the  extremes  of  expansion  in  Patagonia,  Greenland, 
Cape  Colony,  Ceylon,  and  Tasmania.  To  this  list  may  also 
be  added  the  extreme  western  parts  of  Europe,  as  the  Cana- 
ries and  British  Isles.  These  are  veritable  blind  alleys  in 
which  primitive  man  was  ultimately  brought  up  short  and 
where  some  of  his  descendants  are  still  marking  time.  It  so 
happens,  however,  that  the  fluctuating  polar  ice  cap  hovers 
over  the  single  narrow  bridge  to  the  New  World  and  the 
part  it  has  played  in  the  story  of  the  primates  is  truly  won- 
derful. The  reader  familiar  with  the  recent  literature  on 
Paleolithic  man  need  not  be  told  that  the  pulsation  of  this 
ice-cap  is  proving  the  only  reliable  time  clock  for  human 
culture.  At  four  intervals,  at  least,  this  ice  field  crept  down 
into  North  America  and  into  the  Old  World,  each  time 
greatly  modifying  the  distribution  of  mammalian  life. 

Though  we  now  have  a fairly  complete  outline  of  man’s 
relation  to  these  events  in  Europe,  we  are  quite  in  the  dark 
as  to  what  happened  in  Asia  and  America.  The  United 
States  school  of  anthropologists,  led  by  the  veteran  Holmes, 
has  successfully  combated  all  claims  to  an  interglacial  man 
in  America,  but  this  negative  result  is  difficult  to  harmonize 
with  the  cultural  career  of  the  aborigines  we  have  just 
sketched.  No  doubt  it  was  the  consciousness  of  this  that  led 
Boas 35  to  formulate  the  dissenting  view : viz.,  that  man 


RACIAL  DISPERSION 


347 


reached  the  New  World  during  an  interglacial  period. 
Many  investigators  agree  that  ten  to  twenty  thousand  years 
is  all  that  can  be  allotted  for  the  lapse  of  time  since  the  last 
retreat  of  the  ice  in  the  New  World.  This,  of  itself,  might 
give  time  enough  to  account  for  the  growth  of  American 
culture,  but  the  ice  receded  gradually,  in  fact,  still  hangs 
about  the  connecting  bridge,  so  that  a much  more  recent 
date  must  be  set  for  the  last  opening  of  communication. 
Reference  to  our  chapter  on  chronology  will  show  that  this 
leaves  a very  narrow  margin  for  the  development  of  abo- 
riginal culture.  Yet,  exactly  the  same  difficulty  confronts  us 
in  the  Old  World,  for  it  is  clear  that  the  earlier  phases  of 
Egyptian  development  also  leave  us  a narrow  margin,  if  we 
assume  that  all  the  higher  cultures  we  know  were  developed 
since  the  dawn  of  the  Neolithic  in  Europe.  The  important 
difference,  however,  lies  in  that  whereas  we  know  that  man 
was  even  at  that  time  a very  old  inhabitant  of  the  vicinity, 
his  corresponding  presence  in  the  New  World  is  denied. 
Thus,  if  we  accept  the  theory  that  man  first  reached 
America  after  the  opening  of  the  ice  in  Alaska,  we  are 
under  the  necessity  of  assuming  a sudden  unprecedented 
growth  of  culture,  unless  it  turns  out  that  the  lapse  of  time 
has  been  greatly  underestimated.  It  seems  far  more  con- 
sistent with  the  facts  to  assume  that  the  peopling  of  the  New 
World  was  contemporaneous  with  that  of  Western  Europe, 
and  that  the  subsequent  return  of  the  ice  practically  isolated 
the  two  hemispheres,  leaving  each  to  develop  as  it  might. 

If  we  leave  out  of  account  everything  below  the  Tropic 
of  Cancer,  a certain  parallelism  appears  between  western 
Europe  and  eastern  North  America,  though  far  more 
strongly  accentuated  in  the  former.  The  Cro-Magnon  man, 
who  appears  rather  abruptly  in  western  Europe,  has  in  his 
disharmonic  face,  one  of  the  most  prominent  New  World 
characters,  and  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  future  re 
search  in  Asia  will  give  grounds  for  assuming  the  Cro^ 


348 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Fig.  77.  General  Lines  of  Dispersion  for  Mankind.  The  broken  lines  represent  the  more  recent  movements 


RACIAL  DISPERSION 


349 


Magnon  and  contemporaneous  New  World  peoples  to  be 
collateral  branches  from  a central  Asiatic  type.  More  than 
once,  attention  has  been  called  to  certain  vague  similarities 
between  certain  Paleolithic  races  and  the  Eskimo,  and  in 
the  New  World  certain  older  skulls  from  the  remoter  parts 
of  South  America  are  not  far  removed  from  this  same 
Eskimo  type.  Incidentally,  we  may  note  that  the  Chan- 
celade  skeleton  in  western  Europe  belonging  to  Magdalenian 
time,  is  quite  similar  to  the  modern  Eskimo.  The  earlier 
races  appearing  in  Europe  tend  to  be  long-headed,  and  we 
have  noted  a less  marked,  but  still  noticeable  tendency  for 
the  long  heads  in  the  New  World  to  cluster  on  the  extreme 
margins.  That  this  is  rather  fundamental  appears  when  we 
regard  mammals  as  a whole,  for  we  read  that  “when  the 
parallel  series  in  Europe  and  North  America  are  sufficiently 
complete,  they  are  seen  to  be  not  parallel  phyla  of  inde- 
pendent local  evolution,  but  periodically  recruited  by  more 
progressive  new  stages,  apparently  from  a common  center 
of  dispersal.  The  relations  are  like  those  of  one  side  and  the 
other  of  a branching  tree  whose  trunk  region  is  unknown 
to  us.*’  36  The  human  phenomena  we  have  been  consider- 
ing appear,  therefore,  as  but  an  integral  part  of  mammalian 
expansion,  and,  for  that  reason,  become  more  evident. 

In  conclusion,  then,  we  seem  to  have  a large  mass  of 
hominidce  occupying  the  greater  part  of  Asia  and  America, 
the  tendency  of  which  was  toward  round-headedness  and 
straight  hair;  hanging  on  the  outskirts  of  these  were  many 
variants.  This  interpretation  is  not  antagonistic  to  those 
who  regard  the  modern  Indo-European  as  distinct  from 
the  Asiatic-American  branch,  for  the  suggestive  parallels 
between  earlier  types  of  western  Europe  and  America  arise 
in  a much  earlier  period  of  man’s  history.  That  the  New 
World  native  is  a direct  descendant  of  the  Asiatic  Mon- 
golian is  not  to  be  inferred,  for  the  differentiation  is  evi- 
dently remote;  what  is  implied,  is  that  somewhere  in  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


350 

distant  past  the  Asiatic  wing  of  the  generalized  type  diverged 
into  strains,  one  of  which  we  now  know  as  Mongolian,  and 
another  as  American. 

GROUPING  BY  SOMATIC  CHARACTERS 

After  these  necessary  digressions  we  may  turn  to  our 
initial  task,  the  classification  of  New  World  peoples  accord- 
ing to  somatic  characters.  In  the  first  place,  our  previous 
discussions  have  revealed  the  primary  somatic  units  to  be 
the  in-breeding  local  social  groups.  The  resemblances  of 
individuals  within  these  are  comparable  to  family  resem- 
blances among  our  own  people.  If,  for  example,  we  take 
the  Navajo,  Apache,  Pawnee,  Teton-Dakota,  Patagonian, 
and  Eskimo,  there  is  often  no  difficulty  in  placing  an  indi- 
vidual by  his  portrait  alone.  On  the  other  hand,  to  reduce 
the  characters  of  identity  to  exact  statement,  is  extremely 
difficult,  just  as  is  the  case  when  one  attempts  to  write  a 
facial  description  of  an  acquaintance  that  would  clearly 
identify  him.  Our  problem,  then,  is  quite  the  same  as  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  viz.,  to  find  some  empirical  grouping  for 
these  small  somatic  groups. 

Those  who  are  reasonably  familiar  with  anthropological 
literature  can  understand  the  sexual  conditions  that  readily 
contribute  to  the  leveling  down  of  family  differences  to  the 
group  type.  When  we  take  up  the  question  of  group  resem- 
blances, we  may,  upon  a priori  grounds,  assume  that  con- 
tiguous groups  will  often  mix  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  bring 
them  very  near  to  each  other.  The  data  for  tribal  social 
practices  give  every  justification  for  this  assumption.  Then 
when  one  plots  out  a series  of  anatomical  measurements  on 
a map  he  finds  that  high  values  often  tend  to  cluster  in  one 
geographical  area  and  low  in  another.  Thus,  in  case  of 
stature,  we  rarely  find  a single  tall  social  group  surrounded 
by  groups  of  low  stature.  For  example,  the  Cheyenne  are 
rated  as  tall  ( 1 ,748  mm. ) , near  them  were  the  Crow  ( 1 ,732  ) , 


SOMATIC  AREAS 


351 


Arapaho  (1,728),  and  the  Dakota  (1,726).  In  fact,  all  the 
tribes  of  the  bison  area  which  cluster  around  the  above 
group  show  high  stature,  but  receding  to  the  south,  west, 
and  north.  This  is  comparable  to  what  we  find  to  be  true 
of  culture  traits,  viz.,  a tendency  to  radiate  around  a geo- 
graphical center.  Another  good  example  is  around  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado  River,  where  the  Mohave  are  rated 
at  1,740,  the  Maricopa  at  1,722,  the  Yuma  at  1,700,  and  the 
Pima  at  1,703,  while  surrounding  them  are  groups  of  lower 
statures.  A similar  grouping  appears  in  head  measure- 
ments, a fine  illustration  of  which  is  seen  in  Hrdlicka’s  37 
data  on  the  Indians  of  northeastern  United  States,  where  we 
find  certain  agreements  between  tribal  groups  that  are  con- 
tiguous. In  short,  it  appears  that  as  we  pass  from  one  social 
group  to  another,  there  is  a gradation  of  somatic  characters 
and  that  these  gradations  radiate  from  centers  in  much  the 
same  way  as  we  noted  for  culture  characters. 

Now,  if  we  generalize,  it  appears  that  the  same  leveling 
causes  that  unify  the  internal  somatologies  of  the  several 
social  groups  also  operate  to  reduce  group  differences.  On 
logical  grounds  this  leveling  will  be  most  marked  where  the 
opportunities  for  sexual  contact  are  greatest,  and  it  follows 
that  these  opportunities  will  be  greatest  where  cultural  dif- 
fusion is  accelerated.  It  appears,  then,  that  our  best  lead  in 
the  development  of  a somatic  classification  is  to  seek  for 
correlated  distinguishing  characters  in  each  recognized  cul- 
ture area. 

Before  proceeding,  it  may  be  well  to  try  grouping  a few 
measurements  according  to  these  areas.  The  most  accessible 
are  stature  and  cephalic  index,  for  which  we  present  the 
accompanying  tables.  If,  for  instance,  there  were  no  cor- 
respondences between  the  statures  of  social  groups  within 
the  same  area,  we  should  expect  the  distributions  in  the  suc- 
cessive columns  to  be  similar,  or  to  have  a chance  relation. 
This  is  not  what  we  observe,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  almost 


352  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

STATURES  OF  TRIBAL  GROUPS  ACCORDING  TO  CULTURE  AREAS 


every  case  there  is  a tendency  to  cluster  around  an  area 
average.  Thus,  our  initial  assumption  seems  justified  and 
we  may  expect  a somatic  grouping  of  natives  at  least 
roughly  coincident  with  the  culture  grouping. 

If,  however,  we  disregard  all  such  assumptions  and  pro- 
ceed empirically  with  the  compilation  of  a distribution  map 
we  reach  a result  shown  in  Fig.  78.  First,  we  may  be  re- 
minded that  the  data  and  conditions  under  which  this  map 
must  be  made  do  not  permit  of  such  clear-cut  distinctions 
as  were  possible  in  the  preceding  chapters.  The  determining 
characters  used  here  were  stature,  pigmentation,  head,  and 
face  form.  Proceeding,  then,  with  these  limitations,  we 
find,  first  of  all,  that  the  Eskimo  are  fairly  distinct.  Again, 
centering  in  the  North  Pacific  area,  we  have  another  type, 
and  stretching  east  and  above  the  Great  Lakes  and  out  to 
the  Atlantic,  is  a third.  The  centering  of  4,  5,  6,  and  7 on 
our  map  is  approximately  coincident  with  culture  areas. 


SOMATIC  AREAS 


353 


CEPHALIC  INDEX  ACCORDING  TO  CULTURE  AREAS 


Central  America  seems  to  be  a separate  area,  but  the  data 
are  meager. 

South  America  is  still  more  vague,  but  we  have  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  following:  First,  an  upper  Andean  region 
including  the  greater  part  of  Ecuador  and  Colombia;  second, 
the  great  Amazon  basin ; third,  eastern  and  southern  Brazil, 
with  a possible  extension  into  Peru ; fourth,  the  Patagonian- 
Araucan  group;  and  finally,  the  Fuegians. 

It  should  be  understood  that  somatic  identity  is  not 
claimed,  for  such  is  improbable  outside  of  the  social  groups 
we  have  designated  as  the  fundamental  units,  but  that  a 
general  similarity  exists.  Additional  data  will  surely  mod- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


354 

ify  the  boundaries  we  have  designated,  but  it  is  unlikely  that 
the  areas  as  a whole  will  be  effaced.  However,  the  great 
need  is  for  a new  type  of  investigation  in  which  the  full  dis- 
tributions of  specific  characters  are  worked  out.  The 
tendency  in  the  past  has  been  to  isolate  a tribal  unit,  or 
locality,  and  then  describe  minutely  its  cranial  anatomy  or 
its  anthropometry,  as  the  case  might  permit.  What  we  need, 
however,  is  to  know  the  entire  geographical  distribution  of 
such  characters  as  the  inca  bone , apertura  pyriformis,  fossa 
pharyngea , as  well  as  stature,  face  width,  nasal  index,  etc. 
It  was  from  such  studies  of  the  distributions  for  traits  of 
culture,  that  our  present  insight  into  the  phenomena  of  the 
New  World  developed,  and  in  equal  measure  will  our  hold 
upon  the  biological  problem  of  man  in  the  New  World  be- 
come more  secure  with  each  advance  in  the  data  of  distribu- 
tion. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  TYPES 

In  the  preceding,  we  have  assumed  the  same  attitude  as  in 
the  other  initial  classifications,  viz.,  treating  all  as  if  contem- 
poraneous in  origin.  This  is,  of  course,  the  only  attitude  to 
assume  toward  observations  upon  the  living,  but  skeletons 
from  burials  may  belong  to  very  widely  separated  periods. 
We  must,  therefore,  give  some  consideration  to  the  chronol- 
ogy of  somatic  types.  In  the  first  place,  no  skeletal  remains 
have  so  far  been  found  to  which  great  antiquity  can  be  as- 
signed with  absolute  certainty,  at  least,  not  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  critical.  A considerable  number  of  fragmentary 
skeletons  have  come  to  light,  and  achieved  literary  fame, 
among  which  are  the  Lansing  Man,  the  Calaveras  Skull,  the 
Nebraska  Loess  Man,  ana  the  Homo  pampceus  proposed  by 
Ameghino.  The  claims  of  all  these  to  a respectable  age  have 
been  vigorously  assailed  by  Hrdlicka,38  and,  consequently, 
placed  in  the  doubtful  column.  Nevertheless,  one  must  sus- 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TYPES 


355 


Fig.  78.  Somatic  Areas 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


356 

pect  that  where  so  many  cases  arise  which  exercise  the 
utmost  ingenuity  of  scientists  to  disprove,  the  probability  of 
some  being  authentic  is  very  great.  The  later  work  at  Tren- 
ton, however,  makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  disprove  the 
presence  of  the  aborigines  during  the  recession  of  glacial  ice. 
However,  the  one  positive  point  resulting  from  these  contro- 
versies is  that  whatever  may  be  the  age  of  the  skeletons  in 
question,  they  are  of  the  same  general  type  as  those  of  the 
surviving  New  World  native.  This  finding  is  consistent  with 
our  conclusions  as  to  his  homogeneity  and  probable  single 
origin.  On  the  other  hand,  it  will  not  do  to  argue  that  unless 
we  find  skeletons  that  do  differ  from  this  general  type,  they 
cannot,  therefore,  be  old.  But  as  this  controversy  over  the 
antiquity  of  man  in  the  western  world  is  not  our  present 
concern,  we  may  accept  the  above  conclusion  in-so-far  as  it 
applies  to  the  homogeneity  of  type.  Under  such  conditions, 
the  problem  of  antiquity  shifts  to  the  geological  and  faunal 
associations.  For  example,  the  contemporaneity  of  man  and 
the  mammoth  has  not  yet  been  established  for  North  Amer- 
ica, whereas  in  Europe  there  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  of  it. 
There  is  just  one  case  of  association  with  extinct  fauna  that 
promises  something.  In  1914  a human  skeleton  was  found 
in  the  famous  La  Brea  asphalt  bed  of  southern  California, 
among  the  bones  of  both  extinct  and  extant  animals.39  When 
this  deposit  is  completely  excavated  and  its  faunal  strata 
determined,  we  may  have  an  early  date  for  man’s  appearance 
here,  though  not  earlier  than  late  Pleistocene.  Again,  how- 
ever, the  somatic  type  is  the  same.  We  may  anticipate, 
therefore,  no  future  skeleton  finds  but  what  are  of  the  gen- 
eral New  World  type,  but  if  we  consider  the  data  in  other 
parts  of  this  work,  we  must  expect  some  of  them  to  have  a 
respectable  antiquity. 

While  this  point  of  view  applies  to  the  New  World  as  a 
whole,  it  still  remains  possible  that  there  have  been  changes 
in  the  sub-types  occupying  some  of  the  areas  we  have  just 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TYPES 


357 


designated.  Something  like  this  is  suggested  for  South 
America,,40  where  we  find  some  reasons  for  assuming  that 
the  coast,  at  least,  was  first  occupied  by  a fishing  people  with 
long  heads,  who  later  gave  way  to  a round-headed  popula- 
tion. There  are,  also,  some  indications  that  these  long- 
headed South  Americans  are  somatically  similar  to  the  Es- 
kimo and  so,  possibly,  connected ; but  for  the  present,  such 
interpretations  must  be  taken  as  problems  stated  rather  than 
solved.  The  facts  are  that  since  a general  unity  appears  to 
hold  for  the  whole  New  World  population,  we  cannot  expect 
definite  chronological  grouping  for  somatic  types  until  the 
time  relations  of  their  cultural  associates  are  determined. 
Our  previous  discussion  of  the  time  relations  for  culture 
shows  that  little  aid  can  come  from  that  quarter  until  new 
evidence  is  produced.  Without  this  help,  it  would  serve  no 
definite  purpose  to  summarize  the  few  random  observations 
of  local  somatic  sequences  found  in  the  special  literature  of 
the  subject.  Yet  our  inquiry  has  not  been  in  vain  for  we 
have  found  that,  whatever  may  ultimately  prove  to  be  the 
truth  concerning  the  chronological  relations  of  the  skeletal 
material  available  for  the  study  of  aboriginal  man,  there 
cannot  be  the  least  doubt  as  to  the  general  somatic  homo- 
geneity of  the  race  and  the  place  of  its  origin. 


1.  Deniker,  1900.  I,  p.  292. 

2.  Posnansky,  1916.  I. 

3.  Boas,  1895.  I. 

4.  Jenks,  1916.  I. 

5.  Jenks,  1916.  I. 

6.  Hrdlicka,  1916.  I. 

7.  Duckworth,  1904.  I,  p.  317. 

8.  Deniker,  1900.  I,  p.  89. 

9.  Hrdlicka,  1920.  I. 

10.  Sullivan,  1920.  I. 

11.  Heilman,  1919.  I. 

12.  Posnansky,  1916.  I. 

13.  Ripley,  1899.  I,  p.  43. 

14.  Martin,  1914.  I. 


15.  Boas,  1910.  I. 

16.  Boas,  1912.  I,  pp.  177-183. 

17.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

18.  Berry  and  Robertson,  1914.  I. 

19.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

20.  Deniker,  1900.  I. 

21.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

22.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

23.  Deniker,  1900.  I. 

24.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

25.  Deniker,  1900.  I,  pp.  63-64. 

26.  Martin,  1914.  I. 

27.  Thomson,  1899.  I,  PP-  125-128. 

28.  Hrdlicka,  1915.  I,  p.  91. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


358 


29.  Haddon  (no  date). 

30.  Giddings,  1909.  I. 

31.  Chapin,  1913.  I,  p.  210. 

32.  Duckworth,  1904.  I. 

33.  Osborn,  1910.  I. 

34.  Matthew,  1915.  I,  pp.  214,  215. 

35.  Boas,  1912.  I. 


36.  Matthew,  1915. 

37.  Hrdlicka,  1916.  ! 

38.  Hrdlicka,  1907.  ; 

39.  Merriam,  J.  C., 
198-203. 

40.  Joyce,  1912.  I. 


I,  p.  270. 
I. 

I;  1912.  I. 
1914.  I, 


CHAPTER  XIX 

CORRELATION  OF  CLASSIFICATIONS 

We  have  now  given  a descriptive  account  of  the  facts  con- 
stituting our  subject,  and  with  this  preliminary  task  ended, 
may  turn  to  a few  more  serious  problems.  We  have  suc- 
ceeded in  classifying  the  minor  social  units,  according  to 
culture  data,  language,  and  somatic  characters.  Also,  it  has 
been  possible  to  group  geographically  the  known  archaeologi- 
cal artifacts  resulting  in  a distinct  culture  classification.  The 
general  impression  prevails  that  all  of  these  classifications 
are  independent  of  each  other.  The  facts  in  the  case  are 
that  each  system  developed  in  its  own  way  and  largely  at 
the  hands  of  specialists.  The  result  has,  on  the  whole,  been 
detrimental  to  anthropology,  because  the  tendency  has  been 
to  diverge  into  uncoordinated  sciences,  as  linguistics,  archae- 
ology, ethnology,  and  physical  anthropology.  Such  differ- 
entiation developed  partisans  for  each  classification,  whose 
controversies  have  obscured  the  problem  rather  than  other- 
wise. Thus,  the  linguist  asserts  that  no  one  can  do  any- 
thing until  he  learns  native  languages,  because  they  are  the 
keys  to  the  whole  subject;  the  archaeologist  insists  that  his  is 
the  main  road  to  travel ; the  ethnologist  belittles  the  claims 
of  both ; while  the  physical  anthropologist  looks  down  upon 
all.  Fortunately,  this  condition  is  passing  and  the  coming 
generation  of  anthropologists  is  facing  the  synthetic  prob- 
lems upon  which  the  future  of  our  science  depends. 

Such  broader  synthetic  work  must,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  begin  with  the  correlation  of  the  four  great  groups  of 
data  we  have  so  far  discussed  independently.  Each  has 
developed  a classification  based  upon  geographical  distribu- 

359 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


360 

tion  and  in  this  direction  lies  our  first  task.  As  may  be 
anticipated,  any  such  attempt  to  correlate  these  four  great 
systems  of  classification  will  meet  with  opposition,  for  there 
is  a deep-rooted  belief  that  there  are  no  such  correlations. 
But  let  us  ignore  this  proposition  for  the  present,  and  ex- 
amine the  case  on  its  merits. 

Let  us  begin  first  with  the  historic  and  prehistoric  culture 
classifications.  Our  experience  with  Old  World  archaeology 
arouses  two  expectations.  In  classical  problems,  we  antici- 
pate finding  a long  and  continuous  occupation  of  definite 
areas  where  we  find  the  successive  remains  of  what  is,  in  its 
fundamentals,  a single  expanding  culture.  As  all  of  these 
areas  have  well-established  historical  periods,  we  take,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  the  close  correlation,  or  superposition,  of 
archaeological  and  historical  culture  localizations.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  we  deal  with  the  archaeology  of  cultures 
that  do  not  readily  connect  themselves  with  historical  data, 
as  the  Paleolithic  cultures  of  western  Europe,  and  even  some 
of  the  Neolithic,  we  are  accustomed  to  find  a series  of  cul- 
tures resting  one  above  the  other,  but  between  which  the  con- 
nections are  broken.  It  has  sometimes  been  proposed  that 
this  difference  is,  in  the  main,  one  of  interpretation,  but 
again  it  is  defended  as  a real  difference  due  to  the  relative 
antiquities  of  the  two  groups.  Thus,  it  is  considered  that 
cultures  arising  early  enough  to  run  their  courses  before  the 
dawn  of  history,  have  time  to  vanish  completely  and  leave 
room  for  the  establishment  of  something  entirely  new  and 
independent.  Without  dwelling  upon  the  respective  merits 
of  these  two  somewhat  opposing  views,  we  may  turn  to  the 
objective  correlation  of  the  archaeological  and  cultural  classi- 
fications for  the  New  World. 

In  the  first  place,  the  reader  should  fix  in  his  mind  the 
nature  of  these  distribution  areas.  Our  analyses  show  that 
each  is  a more  or  less  illy-defined  area  in  which  there  are 
many  trait  differences,  but  that  these  show  a gradation 


CORRELATIONS 


361 

outward  from  a center,  or  nucleus.  While,  by  comparative 
study,  one  arrives  at  the  generalization  of  a type  for  the 
various  social  groups  making  up  such  a center,  the  result 
is,  nevertheless,  strongly  grounded  in  empirical  methods,  and 
is  not  the  work  or  interpretation  of  a single  individual.  We 
have  seen  that  in  this  respect  the  historic  and  archaeological 
areas  are  essentially  similar,  indicating  that  the  data  of  both 
apply  to  analogous,  if  not  identical,  cultures.  We  should 
note,  also,  that  the  difference  between  the  two  classifications 
is  one  of  time.  One  deals  with  observations  upon  living 
natives,  the  other  with  what  is  found  on  the  ground.  Since 
the  former  begins  with  1492  and  thus  arbitrarily  cross-sec- 
tions the  cultural  career  of  the  natives,  we  may  expect  a 
large  part  of  the  readily  accessible  archaeological  data  to 
refer  to  the  historic  cultures.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have 
just  grounds  for  assuming  that  the  prehistoric  period  was  of 
much  greater  duration  than  the  historic.  One  of  our  prob- 
lems, therefore,  will  be  to  discover  if  the  archaeological  data 
can  be  analyzed  so  as  to  reveal  earlier  independent  cultures 
in  any  of  these  areas,  if  such  there  were.  Unfortunately, 
this  task  must  await  more  searching  field-work,  as  our  dis- 
cussion of  chronology  has  suggested ; so  all  that  can  be  hoped 
for  now  is  the  mere  formulation  of  the  problem. 

The  most  direct  approach  to  this  will  be  a comparative 
study  of  the  respective  distribution  maps.  For  convenience, 
we  have  superimposed  the  archaeological  and  culture  area 
maps  (Fig.  79),  the  historic  areas  in  Arabic,  the  prehistoric, 
or  archaeological  areas,  in  Roman  enumeration.  At  first 
glance,  the  respective  boundaries  may  seem  bewildering,  but 
closer  inspection  shows  many  areas  to  have  common  centers. 
Reading  from  north  to  south,  we  have  the  following  coin- 
cident pairs : XI-5,  X-4,  IX-2,  VIII-3,  VII-9,  VI-i,  XVIII- 
15,  XXI-12,  XXIII-14,  XXIV-13.  Thus  ten  of  the  fourteen 
historic  culture  areas  coincide  with  prehistoric  archaeological 
centers.  Of  the  remaining,  XII-6,  may  well  be  added  to  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


362 

above,  since  it  is  rather  a graphic  factor  that  gives  the  im- 
pression of  divergence. 

Turning  now  to  Area  10,  we  find  it  embracing  archaeologi- 
cal centers  for  XIV,  XV,  and  XVI.  Area  XIII  lies  between 
or  on  the  margins  of  9 and  10,  but  need  not  be  considered 
here,  for  reasons  previously  stated  (p.  277).  Area  XVI  is 
the  old  Maya  region  and  is,  therefore,  somewhat  earlier  than 
the  type  culture  of  historic  Area  10.  In  like  manner,  XV 
is  the  center  of  Zapotecan  culture,  which  also  seems  to  be 
older  than  the  type  of  Area  10,  or  XIV. 

Likewise,  for  Area  11  we  have  three  archaeological  cen- 
ters, XVII,  XIX,  and  XX.  While  we  cannot  yet  state  the 
chronological  relations  of  these,  yet,  from  the  artifacts  alone, 
we  see  that  XVII  affiliates  with  XIX  and  XX  rather  than 
with  XVI,  indicating  that  they  have  a great  deal  in  common. 

Perhaps  the  most  complicated  is  the  superposition  in  east- 
ern North  America.  Thus,  in  Area  8 we  find  two  archae- 
ological centers,  and  in  7,  three,  if  not  four.  In  Area  III, 
the  home  of  the  Iroquois,  stratified  deposits  have  been  re- 
ported showing  Iroquois  remains  over  and  above  what  are 
regarded  as  Algonkin.  The  latter  have  affiliations  to  Area  I 
and  V,  and  since  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Iroquois  seems 
to  have  been  farther  south,  we  assume  that  the  prehistoric 
Area  III  is  due  to  this  intrusion.  In  the  discussion  of  cul- 
ture Area  7,  we  found  the  Iroquois  to  be  intermediate  to  8 
hence,  not  typical.  That  their  archaeology  seems  more 
sharply  divergent  than  their  historic  culture,  may  be  due  to 
the  leveling  effect  of  contact  with  the  surrounding  tribes.  In 
Areas  I and  V we  have  no  very  satisfactory  chronological 
determinations,  so  that  further  discussion  is  useless. 

Looking  back  over  this  comparison,  we  see,  first  of  all, 
that  the  greater  disparities  between  the  two  classifications 
fall  in  the  regions  of  higher  culture.  In  the  case  of  10  and 
11,  it  is  suggested  that  the  chronological  factor  is  the  chief 
disturbing  element.  For  7 and  8,  we  are  less  clear,  but  some 


CORRELATIONS 


363 


Fig.  79-  Superposition  of  Culture  Areas:  The  Historic  Tribes  in 
Arabic;  the  Prehistoric  Tribes  in  Roman  Notation 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


364 

students  attribute  the  divergence  to  stuffings  in  the  popula- 
tion, as  the  data  for  the  Iroquois  suggest.1  To  generalize, 
we  may  say  that  on  the  whole,  the  tendency  is  for  the  his- 
toric cultures  to  coincide  with  those  of  the  prehistoric  classi- 
fication, but  that  in  the  region  of  intense  culture  and  the 
eastern  maize  province,  the  archaeological  areas  are  more 
numerous  than  the  historic  classifications  would  lead  us  to 
anticipate.  A natural  inference  would  be  that  this  is  explica- 
ble as  an  expression  of  relative  age,  those  areas  in  which  the 
people  had  lived  through  only  one  culture  cycle  being  the 
ones  in  which  the  two  maps  most  nearly  coincide.  This, 
however,  does  not  seem  consistent  with  other  data,  and  may 
be  disregarded  at  present. 

LINGUISTICS  AND  CULTURE 

The  reader  is,  no  doubt,  quite  familiar  with  the  idea  of  no 
correlations  between  culture  and  linguistic  type,  which  is 
regarded  as  a kind  of  truism.  But  when  we  look  carefully 
into  the  case,  it  is  not  clear  that  every  kind  of  correlation  is 
absent.2  Our  attention,  so  far,  has  been  fixed  upon  the  con- 
ventional stock  grouping,  but  it  is  now  becoming  clear  that 
this  is  not  the  only  possible  classification.  Under  the  appro- 
priate heading,  we  have  noted  that  in  California,  positive 
similarities  between  a large  number  of  stocks  have  been 
worked  out  and  new  groupings  proposed.  Further,  we  have 
shown  how  the  great  variety  of  languages  spoken  in  the 
California  culture  area  fell  into  groups  strictly  parallel  to 
the  culture  grouping,  and  noted  suggestive  data  from  other 
areas  pointing  in  the  same  direction.  In  all  this,  there  ap- 
pears a definite  tendency  for  language  to  correlate  in  certain 
ways  with  the  culture  grouping.  Yet,  this  correlation  may 
be  an  expression  of  tribal  contact  rather  than  genetic  rela- 
tionship in  speech,  for  it  certainly  does  not  follow  that  simi- 
larities in  culture  parallel  identities  of  linguistic  stock. 

Perhaps  the  reader  should  be  reminded  that  we  are  dis- 


LANGUAGE  AND  CULTURE  365 

cussing  unity  in  stock  and  not  identity  of  speech.  Though 
the  English  and  German  languages  are  of  the  same  stock, 
they  are  far  from  being  mutually  intelligible,  and  this  well 
illustrates  what  we  meet  with  in  native  American  stocks.  It 
is,  in  fact,  a safe  assumption  that  real  identity  of  speech  in 
the  New  World  will  be  accompanied  by  political  and  cul- 
tural unity.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  dealing  with  a dis- 
tinction of  another  sort,  for  a stock  relation  is  an  expression 
of  common  origin.  Even  the  most  cursory  comparison  of 
culture  and  linguistic  maps  will  show  that  a single  stock  may 
spread  into  several  culture  areas,  as,  for  example,  the 
Athapascan,  which  is  found  in  Areas  1,  2,  3,  6,  and  9.  This 
simply  means  that  a language  can  travel  independently  of 
culture,  or,  at  least,  outlives  it.  The  point  we  made  in  the 
preceding  is  that  the  representatives  of  different  stocks 
gathered  into  a culture  area  often  show  intra-stock  similari- 
ties by  which  also  they  can  be  grouped  and  segregated.  These 
similarities  suggest  that  languages  have  a grouping  similar 
to,  and  largely  coincident  with,  the  culture  grouping.  This 
may,  or  may  not,  be  the  result  of  genetic  relations,  but 
rather  of  long  social  contact.  Our  point  is  that  the  lan- 
guages of  a culture  area,  even  when  regarded  as  of  inde- 
pendent stocks,  still  show  a grouping  that  tends  to  be  coinci- 
dent with  that  for  cultural  characters.  It  is  a reasonable 
expectation  that  a distribution  of  phonetic  types  alone  would 
show  a similar  correspondence.  The  peculiar  point  is,  how- 
ever, that  the  unity  is  in  the  stock  affiliation  and  not  in  prac- 
tical speech,  for  the  linguistic  differentiation  within  a stock 
is  often  very  great.  Neither  is  there  political  unity,  and  it 
may  be  doubted  if  the  latter  can  long  exist  without  the  other. 
The  suggestion  is,  therefore,  that  the  similarities  of  lan- 
guages within  a geographical,  or  culture  area,  are  due  to  the 
expansion  of  the  early  parent  stocks  within  their  habitats, 
and  to  the  long  association  made  possible  thereby. 


366 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


SOMATIC  CORRELATIONS 

We  may  now  turn  to  the  somatic  classification  of  Ameri- 
can aborigines.  Again,  we  have  a truism  that  no  correla- 
tions are  to  be  found  with  culture  and  language.  Yet,  our 
previous  discussion  of  somatic  classifications  indicated  a 
kind  of  agreement  in-so-far  that  each  culture  area  mani- 
fested some  somatic  unity,  or  that  the  geographical  distribu- 
tion of  somatic  types  is  generally  coincident  with  culture 
distribution.  Under  that  head  it  was  suggested  that  this 
could  be  expected  if  the  population  were  fairly  stable,  since 
sexual  and  culture  contacts  are  largely  simultaneous.  As  to 
linguistic  correlations,  it  follows  that  wherever  agreements 
are  found  between  language  and  culture,  there  also  may  be 
expected  agreements  in  somatic  type.  A fine  example  of  this 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Eskimo,  where  culture,  language,  and 
somatic  type  are  equally  distinct  from  other  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent. On  the  other  hand,  we  find  cases  where  a stock 
language  is  found  in  more  than  one  culture  area,  and  again, 
other  cases  in  which  the  somatic  type  has  spread  into  neigh- 
boring areas.  Hence  we  are  dealing  with  three  independent 
groups  of  human  phenomena,  each  of  which  tends  toward 
the  same  geographical  centers. 

GENERAL  RELATIONS  OF  CULTURE,  LINGUISTICS,  AND 
SOMATOLOGY 

If  now  we  take  a comprehensive  view  of  anthropology  as 
a whole,  we  see  no  reason  for  revising  the  general  assump- 
tion that  no  necessary  relation  exists  between  the  known 
types  of  culture,  linguistics,  and  somatology.  Neither  are 
certain  types  of  linguistics  associated  with  certain  types  of 
culture,  nor  certain  types  of  somatology  accompanied  by  spe- 
cial forms  of  culture  or  language.  The  particular  combina- 
tion of  these  which  we  encounter  are,  in  the  main,  historical 
facts.  Yet,  we  have  seen  that,  while  this  is  essentially  true, 


MIGRATION 


367 

there  are  ways  in  which  these  classes  of  data  do  correlate. 
This  correlation  is  seen  in  many  of  our  culture  areas.  One 
of  the  best  known  examples,  that  of  the  Eskimo,  has  been 
cited  in  a previous  discussion.  Here  the  language,  culture, 
and  somatology  are  all  distinctly  different  from  those  in 
other  areas.  Again,  in  California  the  languages,  though  of 
many  stocks,  show  a curious  tendency  to  possess  common 
distinctive  characters,  while  the  somatic  type  is  claimed  as 
uniform  throughout.3  We  can,  therefore,  safely  summarize 
our  discussion  by  stating  that  each  distinct  culture  area 
tends  to  have  distinctive  characters  in  language  and  soma- 
tology. However,  the  reversal  of  this  formula  does  not  hold, 
for  people  speaking  languages  of  the  same  stock  do  not  show 
a tendency  to  common  culture  characters  unless  they  occupy 
a single  geographical  area.  An  analogous  negation  holds  for 
somatology.  It  seems  then,  that  culture  is  one  of  the  pri- 
mary factors  in  this  association,  and  that,  due  to  causes  we 
have  not  yet  perceived,  both  languages  and  somatologies  are 
differentiated  after  culture’s  own  pattern. 

THE  MIGRATION  FACTOR 

Our  next  task  will  be  to  seek  out  clues  to  the  identity  of 
these  contributory  causes.  Early  in  this  discussion,  we  saw 
how  closely  the  prehistoric  areas  agreed  with  the  historic, 
suggesting  that  a type  of  culture  was  in  some  vague  manner 
firmly  fixed  in  a locality.  In  some  respects,  such  a conclu- 
sion is  disconcerting,  because  the  traditions  of  our  subject 
call  for  a veritable  and  constant  flux  of  migrations.  While 
our  previous  discussions  have  made  it  apparent  that  migra- 
tion is  exceptional  rather  than  universal,  still,  the  logical 
necessities  of  the  case  require  some  movements  of  popula 
tion.  One  can  scarcely  conceive  of  the  peopling  of  the  New 
World  except  by  the  expansion  and  spread  of  its  population 
gradually  from  one  area  to  another.  It  may  be,  however, 
that  this  is  not  the  important  point  here.  Thus,  when  we 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


368 

consider  the  best  known  or  most  probable  cases  of  migra- 
tion, they  all  seem  to  have  one  common  character,  since  they 
are  circumscribed  movements  in  a single  area.  For  example, 
the  Eskimo,  whose  first  appearance  in  the  New  World  must 
have  been  in  Alaska,  spread  only  along  the  Arctic  coast  belt 
to  its  ultimate  limits.  Yet,  since  they  are  the  sole  posses- 
sors of  this  territory,  they  offer  a far  less  suggestive  exam- 
ple than  can  be  found  elsewhere.  We  now  have  satisfactory 
data  for  the  northern  movement  of  the  Iroquois,  but  if  we 
superimpose  a linguistic  map  and  one  showing  topography, 
we  see  clearly  that  whichever  way  the  tribes  of  Iroquoian 
stock  moved,  they  kept  close  to  the  Atlantic  Highlands.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Algonkin  expanded  in  lands  of  less  ele- 
vation, 500  to  2,000  feet,  but  chiefly  in  a wooded  lake  and 
portage  region.  In  like  manner,  we  may  follow  out  the 
Siouan,  Athapascan,  Salishan,  and  Muskhogean,  Shosho- 
nean,  Mayan,  Arawakan,  Cariban,  and  other  stocks.  It  can- 
not be  an  accident  that  all  the  Muskhogean  peoples  lived  at 
an  elevation  less  than  500,  that  the  Algonkin  were,  with  few 
exceptions,  between  500-  and  2,000,  that  the  Athapascan  are 
chiefly  inland  between  2,000  and  5,000,  while  the  Shoshoni- 
Nahuatl  stock  occupies  land  above  5,000.  If,  then,  we  turn 
from  linguistic  to  culture  characters,  we  find  similar  agree- 
ments. The  southeastern  culture  (Area  8,  Fig.  67),  is  below 
500  feet,  the  Eastern  Woodland  area  (7)  is,  in  the  main, 
from  500  to  2,000,  the  Nahua  area  (10)  above  5,000,  as  was 
also  the  home  of  Inca  culture  (12). 

It  is  also  suggestive  to  take  a topographical  map  as  our 
point  of  departure,  and  note  the  correlations  between  eleva- 
tion and  the  variations  in  cultures.  Thus,  the  Algonkin  of 
the  Atlantic  Coast  plain  from  Maine  southward  are  below 
500  feet,  or  on  a level  with  the  Muskhogean  group,  and  it  is 
just  here  that  we  find  certain  northern  traces  of  Southeast- 
ern culture.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  these  same  lowlands 
reach  up  to  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri,  and  here  also,  we 


MIGRATION 


369 

find  the  margin  of  Southeastern  traits.  The  two  types  of 
culture  which  we  find  in  the  bison  area  ( 1 ) , the  western  and 
the  eastern,  line  up  along  the  north  and  south  divide  of  2,000 
feet.  Further,  it  is  distinctly  among  the  eastern  tribes  that 
we  find  Eastern  Woodland  traits,  the  elevation  of  both  being 
below  2,000  feet. 

These  few  illustrations  must  suffice,  but  the  reader  can 
follow  out  others  by  referring  to  suitable  maps.  We  are  not 
contending  for  a direct  correlation  between  elevation  and 
culture,  for  these  numerals  are  but  convenient  geographical 
indices  to  climatic,  faunal,  and  floral  areas.  As  boundaries, 
they  are  just  as  arbitrarily  chosen  as  those  for  culture  areas, 
but  for  that  very  reason  should  be  strictly  comparable.  The 
fact,  then,  that  they  do  so  correspond  cannot  be  dismissed 
as  a logical  error.  We  are  thus  brought  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  phenomena  of  our  subject  manifest  a strong  ten- 
dency to  expand  to  the  limits  of  the  geographical  area  in 
which  they  arise,  and  no  farther.  Language  and  blood  seem 
to  spill  over  the  edges  far  more  readily  than  culture,  from 
which  we  must  infer  that  their  dispersion  is  a by-product  of 
migration,  but  that  these  migratory  groups  seem  unable  to 
resist  complete  cultural  assimilation. 

From  this  point  of  view,  it  is  conceivable  that  the  Musk- 
hogean  and  Algonkian  stocks,  for  instance,  could  have  ex- 
changed habitats  without  changing  the  cultures  localized 
within  the  two  areas,  provided  the  shifting  was  by  succes- 
sive small  units ; or  that  all  of  the  Shoshonean  peoples  could 
have  become  Pueblos  and  the  Keresan  and  other  stocks  have 
scattered  out  on  the  plateaus  to  the  north,  while  the  culture 
values  of  the  two  areas  remained  relatively  the  same.  That 
such  extreme  transpositions  ever  occurred  is,  of  course,  im- 
probable, but  their  possibility  is  demonstrated  in  the  Plains 
and  particularly  in  the  Pueblo  area  itself. 

Yet,  the  real  problem  in  the  case  remains  unsolved.  What 
became  of  the  culture  brought  into  an  area  by  the  first  set- 


370  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

tiers?  That  the  new  environment  was  harsh  enough  to 
stamp  it  out  promptly  is  beyond  belief.  The  idea  that  all 
initial  cultures  were  uniformly  simple  at  the  first  dispersion 
over  the  New  World  is  equally  unsatisfactory.  No  doubt 
part  of  our  trouble  arises  from  the  fact  that  we  are  best 
acquainted  with  the  centers  of  lower  cultures.  When  we 
have  fuller  knowledge  of  Mexico  and  the  Andean  region,  it 
may  be  expected  that  different  underlying  cultures  will  come 
to  light.  It  is  impossible  to  guess  what  insight  will  thus  be 
gained  into  the  early  history  of  the  Americas,  though  it  is 
a fair  assumption  that  even  the  earlier  cultures  of  these 
higher  centers  will  possess  individuality  comparable  to  other 
areas. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  everywhere  encountered  evi- 
dences of  fundamental  unity  of  origin,  in  both  culture  and 
somatic  types.  The  basic  elements  of  culture  in  the  area  of 
most  intense  development  have  their  fading  parallels  as  we 
go  outward,  and  the  somatic  grouping  shows,  also,  unmis- 
takable evidences  of  expansion  from  a single  ancestral  stock. 
This  may  account  for  the  close  correspondences  we  have 
observed  between  archaeological  and  historic  classifications, 
for,  in  contrast  to  Europe  and  western  Asia,  there  were  no 
sudden  eruptions  of  new  races  until  the  white  occupation  of 
the  New  World,  Whereas  in  the  former,  we  find  evidences  of 
many  such  successive  invasions,4  It  is  fair  to  assume  that, 
had  the  road  from  Asia  to  America  been  broad,  direct,  and 
open,  we  should  find  here  a complex  archaeological  condition 
quite  comparable  to  that  of  the  Old  World,  for  then  wave 
after  wave  of  new  peoples  and  cultures  would  have  poured 
into  America  as  they  did  into  Europe. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ENVIRONMENT 

We  are  now  prepared  toTake  a closer  view  of  the  control- 
ling factors  in  the  formation  of  these  geographical  types  of 
man  and  his  works.  It  is  natural  to  suspect  the  environment 


ENVIRONMENT 


37 1 

to  be  one  of  these,  since  the  fauna  and  flora  of  a locality  are 
certain  to  leave  their  stamps  upon  many  traits  of  culture. 
From  the  very  first,  we  saw  how  the  location  of  food  areas 
laid  down  the  general  lines  of  culture  grouping.  One  strik- 
ing characteristic  of  such  an  area  is  the  tendency  to  spe- 
cialize in  some  one  or  two  foods.  Reference  to  the  initial 
chapter  of  this  work  will  make  this  point  clear.  For  exam- 
ple, we  have,  centering  in  California  (3),  the  use  of  the 
acorn;  in  the  Plains  (1),  the  bison;  in  parts  of  both  conti- 
nents, maize;  and  in  the  Amazon  country  (14),  manioc.  At 
all  these  culture  centers  we  find  more  or  less  elaborate  pro- 
cesses of  preparation  involving  technical  knowledge,  for 
example,  the  making  of  acorn  flour  and  bread,  the  roasting 
of  camas,  etc.  These  processes  tend  to  spread  throughout 
the  area  of  supply.  Thus,  the  acorn  industry  extends  well 
up  into  Oregon  far  beyond  the  California  center;  the  roast- 
ing of  camas  (2)  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  also  to 
the  Blackfoot  of  the  Plains,  etc.  Again,  we  note  certain 
specializations  of  manufacture:  California  (3),  baskets; 
North  Pacific  Coast  (4),  boxes  and  plank  work;  the  Plains 
(1),  rawhide  work  (parfleche,  bags,  etc.);  Mackenzie  (6), 
birchbark  (canoes,  vessels,  etc.)  ; Plateau  (2),  sagebrush 
weaving;  Southwest  (9),  textiles  and  pottery;  Southeast 
(8),  cane  and  fiber  weaving;  the  Eastern  Woodlands  (7), 
knot  bowls  and  bass  fiber  weaving,  etc.  Types  of  shelter 
present  similar  distributions,  and  so  do  many  other  traits. 
All  of  these  traits  are  seen  to  reach  out  far  beyond  the  bor- 
ders of  the  respective  culture  centers,  and  such  extensions 
can,  in  the  main,  be  correlated  with  faunal  and  floral  dis- 
tributions. Yet,  not  even  all  of  the  more  material  traits  can 
be  considered  dependent  upon  the  fauna  and  flora,  for  ex- 
ample, pottery.  Also,  art  and  ceremonies  are  no  less  dis- 
tinctive and,  as  we  have  seen,  are  also  localized  in  these  same 
centers.  In  this  case,  the  influence  of  the  environment  could 
be  but  remote.  In  any  case,  we  find  that  the  people  in  a cul- 


372 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


ture  area  have  chosen  but  a few  of  the  possibilities  and  spe- 
cialized in  them,  leaving  many  other  resources  untouched. 
It  is,  of  course,  plain  that,  if  the  directions  of  this  specializa- 
tion varied,  many  different  kinds  of  culture  could  succes- 
sively occupy  the  same  geographical  area. 

Apparently,  the  chief  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  lies 
in  man  himself.  A group  of  people  having  once  worked  out 
processes  like  the  use  of  acorns,  maize,  manioc,  etc.,  estab- 
lish social  habits  that  resist  change.  Then  the  successful 
adjustment  of  one  tribe  to  a given  locality  will  be  utilized 
by  neighbors  to  the  extension  of  the  type,  and  to  the  inhibi- 
tion of  new  inventions,  or  adjustments.  Therefore,  the 
origin  of  a culture  center  seems  due  to  ethnic  factors  more 
than  to  geographical  ones.  The  location  of  these  centers  is 
largely  a matter  of  historic  accident,  but  once  located  and 
the  adjustments  made,  the  stability  of  the  environment 
doubtless  tends  to  hold  each  particular  type  of  culture  to  its 
initial  locality,  even  in  the  face  of  many  changes  in  blood 
and  language. 

As  to  actual  movements  of  tribes  from  one  center  to  the 
other,  we  have  no  good  historical  examples.  Our  discussion 
of  migrations  has  shown  that  the  tendency  was  to  move 
about  in  the  same  geographical  area,  yet  these  wanderings 
must  have  sometimes  led  to  other  culture  areas.  The  most 
probable  case  of  this  kind  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the 
Cheyenne  Indians.  According  to  Mooney,5  they  left  Minne- 
sota, where  they  had  an  intermediate  Plains  culture  and 
joined  the  typical  tribes  at  the  center,  where,  in  the  course  of 
a century,  they  became  typical  in  culture.  On  linguistic 
grounds,  we  assume  that  the  Blackfoot  and  Arapaho  did  the 
same  at  a much  earlier  date.  In  California  and  the  South- 
west we  see  Athapascan-speaking  remnants  who  are  most 
likely  immigrants  from  the  north,  yet  this  does  not  show 
itself  in  their  culture.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  these  mi- 
grating units  were  not  strong  enough  to  prevent  their  people 


ENVIRONMENT 


373 


from  following  the  lead  of  neighbors  wherever  they  hap- 
pened to  tarry.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  such  migrations 
must  have  been  but  occasional  and  exceptional,  for,  unless 
the  distinctive  tribes  remained  in  force  at  the  culture  center, 
the  type  would  have  been  destroyed.  Hence,  we  must  assume 
very  great  stability  of  these  centers  and  a fair  degree  of  sta- 
bility for  the  New  World  as  a whole. 

Now  reverting  to  the  correlations  of  language,  culture, 
and  somatic  type,  we  are  prepared  to  see  that  while  the 
environment  does  not  produce  the  culture,  it  furnishes  the 
medium  in  which  it  grows,  and  that  when  once  rooted  in  a 
geographical  area,  culture  tends  to  hold  fast.  The  somatic 
type,  while  not  closely  correlated  with  environment,  yet 
shows  a tendency  to  conform  to  it.  This  would  be  consistent 
with  our  conclusion  that  the  population  of  a center  was  rela- 
tively stable,  so  that  an  occasional  immigrant  group  could  be 
gradually  leveled  by  intermarriage.  But  the  immigrant 
group  need  not  change  its  language  so  long  as  it  maintains 
its  social  independence,  nor  does  the  environment  appear  to 
put  any  pressure  upon  its  members  to  so  change  it.  What 
uniformity  of  somatic  type  we  then  have  is  merely  the  acci- 
dental result  of  sexual  contact,  while  the  lack  of  linguistic 
uniformity  is  due  to  the  former  history  of  the  group.  It  fol- 
lows then  that  about  all  that  survives  in  an  immigrant  group 
is  its  speech,  for  both  its  culture  and  blood  gradually  disap- 
pear in  the  new  environment.  But  blood  being  a biological 
character,  in  contrast  to  culture,  it  is  subject  to>  certain  very 
definite  laws  of  inheritance  and  the  particular  forms  the 
mixture  will  take  are  likely  to  be  various.  Culture  on  the 
other  hand,  can  be  entirely  displaced  even  within  a single 
generation. 

Finally,  with  a few  generalizations  we  may  summarize 
this  long  and  tedious,  but  we  trust  not  unprofitable,  survey 
of  aboriginal  man  and  his  varied  characters.  It  appears  a 
fair  assumption  that  so  long  as  the  main  sustaining  habit- 


3 74  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

complexes  of  life  remain  the  same  in  an  area,  there  will  be 
little  change  in  material  culture.  This  may  be  in  part  an 
explanation  for  the  lack  of  close  correspondence  between  the 
historic  cultures  and  archaeology  in  the  several  parts  of  the 
great  maize  areas  in  contrast  to  identity  elsewhere.  The 
bison,  salmon,  wild  acorn,  and  guanaco  must  have  been  in 
their  respective  habitats  for  a long,  long  time,  and  a culture 
once  developed  around  them  could  be  displaced  only  by  a 
radical  change,  such  as  the  introduction  of  agriculture  or 
pastoral  arts.  Now  the  regions  where  maize  was  found  in 
use  at  the  opening  of  the  historic  period  are  just  those  in 
which  archaeology  shows  the  most  disparity.  It  seems  then, 
that  the  environment  as  a static  factor  conserves  the  types 
of  culture  and  because  of  this  weighting  of  one  of  our  three 
great  groups  of  characters,  breaks  their  unity,  so  that  the 
same  language  and  likewise  the  same  blood  may  be  found  in 
association  with  different  cultures  according  to  the  laws  of 
historic  accident. 


1.  Dixon,  1914.  I. 

2.  Sapir,  1916.  I. 

3.  Hrdlicka,  1906.  I. 


4.  Haddon,  1911.  I. 

5.  Mooney,  1907.  I. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THEORIES  OF  CULTURE  ORIGIN 

The  familiar  phenomenon  of  identity  of  traits  among  dif- 
ferent groups  of  aborigines  has  always  been  treated  as  a 
serious  problem.  Our  leading  anthropologists  have  shown 
a tendency  to  seek  the  explanation  for  such  identity  in  inde- 
pendent development  rather  than  in  diffusion,  or  borrowing, 
presumably  because  of  the  predisposition  arising  from  expe- 
rience with  the  highly  organized  military  groups  of  Europe, 
where  political  unity  is  practically  synonymous  with  cultural 
individuality.  We  have  seen  how  this  correlation  also  ap- 
peared among  the  more  highly  organized  peoples  of  the  New 
World,  but  was  not  found  among  the  more  primitive  tribes 
where  culture  groups  were  far  more  inclusive  than  the  politi- 
cal ones.  But  there  is  still  another  important  factor  favor- 
ing the  independent  origin  theory:  viz.,  Darwinism,  the 
great  influence  of  whose  evolutionary  ideas  emphasized  the 
development  aspect  of  culture  and  thus  gave  the  primitive 
social  group  an  exaggerated  importance. 

According  to  the  independent  development  theory,  the 
unity  of  the  human  mind  is  sufficient  to  account  for  identi- 
ties in  culture  wherever  the  environments  are  the  same. 
Thus,  according  to  this  view,  no  matter  what  tribes  moved 
into  the  country  occupied  by  one  of  our  culture  centers,  the 
environment  would  react  on  their  minds  in  essentially  the 
same  way,  suggesting  the  same  ideas  and  so  leading  to  the 
same  inventions.  One  important  objection  to  the  wide  ap- 
plication of  this  theory  is  that  different  peoples  do  not  seem 
to  arrive  at  the  same  solutions  even  when  confronted  with 
like  conditions.  Another  difficulty  is  that  similarities  are 

375 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


376 

found  in  such  traits  as  mythological  characters,  social  prac- 
tices, etc.,  whose  origin  can  not  be  successfully  accounted  for 
as  reactions  to  the  environment.  Yet,  a close  view  of  the 
case  shows  that  many  times  these  objections  can  be  fairly 
well  met,  so  that  a final  conclusion  as  to  the  applicability  of 
the  theory  is  reached  with  difficulty.  Further,  it  is  clear  that 
there  is  usually  but  a single  solution  for  a problem  so  that 
if  it  is  solved  at  all  it  will  be  solved  in  the  same  way  and 
given  time  enough  some  one  is  by  the  law  of  accident  sure  to 
hit  upon  it.  But  the  greatest  difficulty  with  the  theory  of 
independent  invention  is  found  in  the  observed  distribution, 
for  this  tends  to  be  continuous  over  certain  areas,  instead  of 
intermittent,  as  would  be  the  case  if  due  to  accident,  unless 
we  assume  a greater  age  for  New  World  culture  than  other 
facts  warrant.  Also,  we  have  historical  examples  of  diffu- 
sion, as,  for  example,  the  Ghost  Dance  religion,1  the  Peyote 
Cult,2  the  Grass  Dance  ceremonies,3  the  Spanish  horse  cul- 
ture,4 etc.,  and  scarcely  one  of  the  contrary  kind.  In  these 
historic  cases,  the  phenomena  came  under  direct  observation 
so  that  there  can  not  be  the  least  doubt  as  to  diffusion,  or 
borrowing  by  one  social  group  from  another.  The  most 
satisfactory  conclusion,  then,  seems  to  be  that  while  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  different  social  groups  will  ultimately 
solve  many  of  their  problems  in  the  same  way,  they  are  far 
more  likely  to  borrow  the  solutions  of  their  neighbors,  which 
arrangement  gives  the  initial  solution  a very  great  advan- 
tage. Hence,  when  there  is  continuity  of  distribution  we 
may  posit  a single  origin,  or  locality,  from  which  the  trait 
has  been  diffused,  until  we  can  find  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary. 

The  most  modern  advocate  of  the  diffusion  theory  is 
Graebner,5  who  is  disposed  to  the  extreme  view  that  inde- 
pendent invention  is  practically  impossible  and  that  all  sim- 
ilarities, however  widely  separated,  are  to  be  considered  as 
having  single  origins.  Such  extreme  views  are  always 


THEORIES  OF  CULTURE  ORIGIN  377 

harmful,  for  they  set  up  a mere  formula  according  to  which 
problems  are  solved  deductively,  whereas  the  true  and  safe 
method  of  science  is  to  proceed  empirically.  The  ideal 
method  is  to  treat  each  case  according  to  its  own  data  and 
not  to  assume  diffusion  from  a single  locality  until  we  have 
some  good,  specific  reasons  for  so  doing. 

There  is,  however,  still  another  theory  to  account  for  sim- 
ilarities in  culture — an  hypothesis  first  advocated  by  Ehren- 
reich,6  under  the  title  of  convergence.  According  to  this 
view  a definite  culture  complex,  which  appears  to  be  the 
same  among  two  or  more  social  groups,  may  prove  upon 
analysis  to  have  been  arrived  at  in  quite  different  ways.7 
The  similarity  is  in  this  case  merely  an  accident  of  develop- 
ment. As  the  reality  of  such  convergence  has  been  clearly 
established  for  certain  instances,  it  must  always  be  consid- 
ered as  a possible  factor,  and  so  complicates  our  problem. 
It  has,  however,  one  great  virtue  in  that  its  applicability 
must  be  empirically  determined  for  each  case,  and  can  not 
be  deduced  from  a general  presupposition.  In  fact,  all  these 
theories  are  of  little  use  as  formulae  of  interpretation,  for  we 
must  study  carefully  each  trait-complex  before  a conclusion 
as  to  its  origin  can  be  reached.  Their  true  functions  are  to 
define  the  different  ways  in  which  cultural  similarities  have 
been  observed  to  come  about. 

The  intensive  analytic  study  of  single  trait-complexes  has 
developed  the  pattern  theory.8  The  conception  is  that  in  cer- 
tain phases  of  culture  each  social  unit  develops  a style,  or 
pattern,  for  its  traits  and  that  borrowed  traits  will  be  worked 
over  to  make  them  conform  to  this  pattern.  So  far  as  we 
can  now  see  such  patterns  hold  only  for  organized  traits  like 
ceremonies  and  social  systems  of  control.  The  very  com- 
plete studies  we  now  have  for  the  cultures  of  a few  tribes  in 
the  central  part  of  North  America  suggest  that  in  organized 
ceremonies  each  tribe  has  one  main  concept  according  to 
which  all  their  ritualistic  performances  are  adjusted.  For 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


378 

example,  we  find  that  the  Dakota  have  a conception  that 
supernatural  power  comes  by  a vision  or  dream,  in  which 
an  animal-like  being  designates  a plant  as  containing  the 
power  sought,  and  this  plant  then  becomes  the  important 
objective  part  of  the  ritual.  The  Menomini,  on  the  other 
hand,  consider  that  power  is  conveyed  by  a song  and  that 
the  true  supernatural  experience  is  to  be  found  only  when  a 
song  is  handed  down.  The  rituals  of  each  also  have  distinct 
forms  or  styles  of  composition  by  which  they  can  be  distin- 
guished. Yet,  so  far  as  we  have  observed,  these  tribal  pat- 
tern conceptions  do  not  greatly  interfere  with  the  absorption 
of  foreign  rituals.  For  example,  the  hako  pipe  ritual  of  the 
Pawnee  9 has  been  traced  through  a number  of  tribes  with- 
out losing  its  important  features.  But  where  the  pattern  has 
most  force  is  within  the  tribe  itself.  For  example,  in  the 
Plains  area  we  usually  find  a very  large  number  of  rituals 
projected  on  similar  lines,  indicating  that  they  are  the  accu- 
mulative creations  of  many  individuals  in  imitation  of  the 
rituals  already  established.  This  is  particularly  noticeable 
in  the  bundle  rituals  of  the  Blackfoot,  Menomini,  and  Paw- 
nee. Yet,  these  tribal  patterns  have  not  prevented  the  occa- 
sional borrowing  of  rituals  from  their  neighbors.  It  is,  per- 
haps, too  soon  to  pass  judgment  upon  the  general  applicabil- 
ity of  the  pattern  theory,  for  until  we  have  detailed  analyses 
of  several  contiguous  tribal  complexes  we  can  not  form  a 
satisfactory  conception  of  just  what  ideas  may  have  been 
worked  over  to  form  rituals  not  originally  conforming  to 
the  tribal  pattern;  but  as  it  now  stands  the  theory  of  pat- 
tern phenomena  applies  rather  to  the  original  products  of  a 
tribe  than  to  borrowed  traits,  and  can  not  be  considered  as 
expressing  an  important  principle  of  culture  diffusion. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  contributions  to  this  subject 
have  been  made  by  those  who  have  exhaustively  studied  the 
diffusion  of  single  traits.  As  a good  example,  we  may  cite 
Goldenweiser’s  study  of  totemism,10  in  which  the  distribu- 


THEORIES  OF  CULTURE  ORIGIN 


379 


tions  of  the  several  elements  appearing  in  specific  examples 
of  totemism  are  followed  out  to  their  limits,  exposing  the 
workings  of  pattern  and  other  formative  factors.  Of  equal 
value  is  Lowie’s  research  in  Plains  societies  11  previously 
cited. 

In  the  older  literature,  we  find  a number  of  studies  of 
single  traits,  particularly  in  material  culture,  but  as  their 
investigators  usually  took  their  diffusion  for  granted,  they 
gave  their  chief  attention  to  the  question  of  genetic  rela- 
tionships.12 Yet  what  we  need  in  this  connection  is  analytic 
studies,  like  the  above,  that  reveal  the  manner  of  diffusion 
over  a considerable  area.  Some  recent  studies  of  material 
culture  have  made  attempts  of  this  kind.  One  of  the  most 
suggestive  is  the  study  of  horse  culture  in  both  North  and 
South  America,  first  developed  by  Lewis,  but  carried  out 
in  some  detail  by  the  author.13  Here  it  can  be  shown  that 
the  natives  of  the  New  World  first  in  contact  with  the 
Spanish  settlements  acquired  the  whole  horse-complex  of 
the  invaders.  They  did  not  take  over  the  cart,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  Spaniards  drew  carts  and  ploughs  with 
oxen,  using  horses  and  mules  only  for  packing  and  riding. 
Historical  data  show  that  the  whole  horse-complex  acquired 
by  the  first  tribes  was  passed  on  to  their  neighbors  in  rapid 
succession,  far  in  advance  of  interior  exploration.  Prac- 
tically nothing  was  lost.  Nor  was  anything  of  moment 
added  except  the  travois  in  North  America  and  a few  rit- 
ualistic observances  which,  so  far  as  they  have  been  studied, 
seem  to  have  had  a common  origin.  In  this  region  of  aborig- 
inal dog-traction  there  still  remains  a very  important  prob- 
lem as  to  how  much  of  the  older  dog  culture  was  incorpo- 
rated in  the  more  recent  horse-complex.  The  only  good 
study  of  dog-culture  is  that  for  the  Hidatsa  by  Wilson,14 
which  suggests  that  in  the  care  and  handling  of  dogs  and 
horses  we  shall  find  some  pattern  phenomena.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  tribes  of  the  pampas  in  the  south  seem  to  have  had 


DIFFUSION  OF  THE  GRASS  DANCE  TRAIT-COMPLEX 

(Heyoka)  ( Crow-bell ) 

Dakota  and  Ojibway  Omaha  and  Osage 


380 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


THEORIES  OF  CULTURE  ORIGIN  381 

no  dog-traction.  Unfortunately,  we  have  no  data  as  to  the 
ceremonial  accompaniments  of  the  horse,  but  in  its  objec- 
tive features  the  horse-complex  agrees  with  the  Spanish 
riding  complex. 

The  author’s  studies  of  maize  culture  show  that  in  this 
case  the  whole  complex  was  carried  along  over  the  eastern 
maize  area  and,  what  is  perhaps  of  more  significance,  almost 
the  entire  complex  was  taken  over  by  the  English  colonists.15 
In  the  Old  World,  where  the  seed  alone  was  introduced,  we 
do  not  find  this  complex  but  an  adaptation  of  the  prevailing 
cereal  complex. 

Additional  examples  of  diffusion  by  whole  complexes 
come  readily  into  mind  so  that  we  can  generalize  by  stating 
that  in  the  New  World  the  diffusion  of  material  complexes 
has  been  by  wholes.  It  was  not  merely  a plant,  a food,  or 
an  idea  that  was  borrowed,  but  a complete  method,  with 
all  of  its  associates.  When,  however,  we  turn  to  cere- 
monial practices  and  art,  the  case  is  less  simple,  for  there 
seems  to  be  a conflict  between  tribal  patterns  and  the  new 
trait. 

Perhaps  the  most  carefully  studied  ceremonial  complex 
is  the  modern  Grass  Dance  of  the  Plains  area  in  North 
America.16  Its  variegated  history  is  outlined  in  the  diagram, 
showing  how  it  first  took  definite  form  among  the  Pawnee 
by  the  union  of  certain  foreign  concepts  and  how  later  from 
this  sprang  the  Grass  Dance,  and  in  turn  the  latter  gave 
the  Dream  Dance.  A close  study  of  the  rituals  for  each  type 
indicates  that  the  Dream  Dance,  which  originated  among 
groups  belonging  to  the  Eastern  Woodland  culture  area  is 
widely  divergent  from  the  Grass  Dance,  notwithstanding 
that  this  dance  was  its  parent.  The  tribes  in  the  Plains  area 
took  up  the  Grass  Dance  one  after  the  other,  but  on  the 
borders  of  the  Eastern  Woodland  area  the  Dream  Dance  is 
found.  Analysis  of  the  two  ceremonies  shows  that  each  is 
adapted  to  the  prevailing  pattern  of  its  area.  Hence,  we 
may  generalize  with  the  statement  that  in  taking  over  a 


382  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

foreign  ceremony,  concessions  will  be  made  to  the  tribal 
pattern. 

Thus,  it  is  apparent  that  a great  advance  has  been  made 
in  empirical  studies  of  the  origin  of  particular  culture-com- 
plexes. The  spread  of  these  complexes  over  a geographical 
area  is  explained  by  diffusion  from  a center.  Some  progress 
has  been  attained  in  observing  the  manner,  or  mechanism,  of 
this  diffusion.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  constrained  to 
assume  that  since  in  many  cases  these  trait-complexes  are 
confined  to  a single  area,  they  must  have  originated  as  new 
inventions  within  its  borders.  As  an  illustration,  we  may 
again  refer  to  the  societies  of  the  Plains  Indians.  The 
native  conception  upon  which  this  organization  is  based  is 
the  creation  of  a series  of  societies  which  one  must  enter 
in  a fixed  sequence  at  equal  intervals.  Further,  as  these 
organizations  require  that  the  youths  who  enter  the  lowest 
society  shall  be  of  about  the  same  age,  we  have  a system 
of  age-grading.  Now,  this  idea  of  age-qualifications  for 
membership  in  a society  is  found  only  among  the  Black- 
foot,  Gros  Ventre,  Arapaho,  Mandan,  and  Hidatsa  tribes. 
Yet  the  same  societies  in  all  their  other  essential  features 
are  found  to  cover  the  entire  area  (Fig.  80).  From  the 
map,  we  see  that  tribes  having  the  age-grading  system  have 
a central  position;  at  least,  they  do  not  reach  the  edges  of 
the  distribution  area.  Now,  since  we  do  not  find  these 
societies  anywhere  else  in  the  New  World,  it  is  fair  to 
assume  that  they  originated  in  this  area.  In  so  far  the 
conception  of  an  age-graded  series  is  an  independent  inven- 
tion. It  is  also  fair  to  assume  that  one  of  the  five  tribes 
manifesting  this  complex  is  responsible  for  its  presence. 

Thus,  we  may  generalize  by  stating  that  when  a trait- 
complex  is  confined  to  a single  area,  it  may  be  regarded 
as  an  independent  invention.  As  such,  it  can  be  hypo- 
thetically, if  not  actually,  assigned  to  a single  tribe  from 
whom  it  was  diffused  outwardly.  Yet,  we  have  seen  that 


CULTURE  TRAIT  ASSOCIATION  383 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


384 

not  one,  but  many  such  inventions  seem  to  center  in  one 
place,  or  area.  What,  therefore,  shall  we  say  of  the  causes 
contributing  to  this  result? 

CULTURE  TRAIT  ASSOCIATION 

Such  discussions  as  the  preceding  lead  ultimately  to  an 
important  theoretical  problem;  namely,  the  nature  of  trait 
association  within  what  we  call  a tribal  culture.  So  far, 
we  have  used  the  term  culture  to  designate  the  sum  total 
of  trait-complexes  manifested  by  a social  group,  or  tribe. 
We  have  naively  assumed  that  they  formed  a whole,  because 
they  pertained  to  a single  group  of  people  and  we  have 
characterized  types  of  culture  by  enumerating  the  most 
conspicuous  of  these  traits.  Such  a view  would,  in  the  end, 
commit  us  to  the  theory  that  the  simultaneous  appearance  of 
two  or  more  traits  was  a mere  coincidence,  or  an  accident. 

In  other  words,  unless  we  can  find  some  other  basis  for  this 
association  of  traits  in  a culture,  such  traits  have  no  func- 
tional or  other  necessary  relations  to  each  other. 

If  we  recall  the  details  of  trait  distribution  so  far  dis- 
cussed, there  come  to  mind  many  instances  of  whole  groups 
of  associated  traits  so  segregated  as  to  suggest  their  dif- 
fusion as  a whole.  In  this  book  we  have  preferred  to  use 
the  term  trait-complex  because  it  more  accurately  expresses 
the  character  of  the  phenomenon.  For  example,  we  have 
frequently  referred  to  the  maize-complex.  By  this  term,  we 
designate  all  the  practices  that  immediately  accompany  maize 
production.  Upon  analysis,  we  find  these  processes  to  fall 
into  unit  cycles  such  as  planting,  cultivating,  gathering,  pre- 
serving, storing,  grinding,  cooking,  etc.,  each  of  which  may 
be  quite  complex  in  itself,  but  all  are  dependent  one  upon  the 
other.  They  thus  form  a kind  of  logical  sequence,  the  ulti-  ;; 
mate  aim  of  which  is  to  provide  a specific  type  of  food.  As 
another  example,  we  may  cite  pottery : here  we  again  see  a 
complex  in  which  are  a number  of  unit  cycles  of  processes, 


CULTURE  TRAIT  ASSOCIATION  385 

as  making  the  paste,  modeling,  drying,  decorating,  baking, 
etc.  No>w  it  appears  that  there  is  a functional  association  of 
some  kind  between  the  unit  processes  within  one  of  these 
complexes — they  are  at  least  knit  into  a logical  whole.  On 
the  other  hand,  our  previous  discussions  have  shown  a 
tendency  for  the  whole  pottery-complex  to  accompany  the 
maize-complex.  Yet  it  is  not  apparent  that  one  of  these  is 
necessary  to  the  other.  Since  the  natives  of  California 
cooked  acorn  meal  in  baskets  (page  52),  it  appears  equally 
possible  to  cook  maize  meal  in  the  same  manner.  The  co- 
incidence, then,  between  the  distribution  of  the  maize-com- 
plex and  the  pottery-complex  can  scarcely  be  due  to  any 
objective  functional  relation  between  the  two  complexes 
themselves. 

Another  interesting  example  of  such  association  has  been 
noted  among  the  tribes  intermediate  to  the  North  American 
Plains  center  of  culture.  These  tribes  lived  in  tipis  at  all 
times  except  when  engaged  in  the  production  of  maize, 
during  which  period  they  occupied  permanent  houses  of  a 
different  type.  Now,  if  the  tipi  sufficed  as  a residence  in 
one  case,  it  could  do  so  equally  well  in  the  other.  The  most 
satisfactory  explanation  for  this  peculiarity  is  that  the  tribes 
from  whom  the  art  of  maize  culture  was  borrowed,  used  a 
shelter  of  that  kind.  In  the  same  way,  we  could  assume 
that  pottery  vessels  and  maize  were  diffused.  Such  explana- 
tions for  trait-complex  associations  are  classed  as  historical 
interpretations.  The  tacit  assumption  is  that  if  two'  com- 
plexes once  happen  to  get  associated  there  is  small  chance 
of  diffusing  one  without  the  other. 

We  have  taken  our  illustrations  from  material  life,  but 
they  could  be  duplicated  in  about  every  aspect  of  culture. 
The  distinguished  English  anthropologist,  Tylor,17  once  dis- 
cussed such  associations  between  social  trait-complexes  under 
the  name  “adhesions,”  which,  in  a way,  rather  closely  char- 
acterizes the  relation.  In  our  discussions  of  relationship 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


386 

systems,  we  found  certain  methods  of  estimating  kinship  to 
follow  certain  forms  of  marriage;  but,  in  such  cases  we  are 
dealing  with  a single  complex.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
have  not  found  that  specific  kinship  complexes  were  always 
associated  with  specific  ceremonial  or  other  complexes.  In 
short,  nothing  so  far  connects  specific  forms  of  ceremony 
with  a single  form  of  social  organization. 

The  general  net  result  of  this  inquiry,  therefore,  has  been 
negative  and  we  are  left  with  a presumption  that  there  are 
no  direct  functional  relations  between  the  several  trait-com- 
plexes constituting  a culture.  The  safest  assumption  seems 
to  be  that  they  are  found  together  because  historical  causes 
operated  to  bring  them  into  juxtaposition  within  the  life  of 
the  group.  Now,  we  are  facing  one  of  the  very  fundamental 
assumptions  of  anthropology  : viz.,  the  historical  concep- 
tion of  culture,  a subject  for  further  consideration. 

THE  HISTORICAL  CONCEPTION  OF  CULTURE 

While  the  full  exposition  of  the  historical  conception  of 
culture  is  not  permissible  here,  some  general  statements 
may  be  attempted.  Each  individual  usually  brings  to  this 
subject  strong  sociological  biases  which  distort  his  com- 
prehension of  the  idea.  Thus,  our  particular  ideas  of  race 
values  and  our  opinions  as  to  heredity  make  the  assumption 
of  a fair  attitude  toward  even  the  facts  of  culture  extremely 
difficult.  The  zoological  sciences  have  for  their  own  the 
conception  of  evolution  which  is  the  heart  and  soul  of  the 
whole  subject.  Man  as  a mammal,  or  even  as  a primate, 
falls  under  this  conception  and  we  have  seen  how  fruitful 
was  its  application  in  the  discussion  of  New  World  racial 
affiliations  with  the  Old.  Taking  this  as  the  point  of  de- 
parture, sociology  and  anthropology  have  sought  to  inter- 
pret culture  as  the  mere  expression  of  organic  evolution; 
but  such  interpretations  could  not  be  made  consistent  with 
the  data.  Heredity  did  not  appear  to  perpetuate  the  differ- 


HISTORICAL  CONCEPTION  OF  CULTURE  387 

ent  forms  of  culture  found  in  the  world,  nor  could  it  in  any 
way  account  for  the  cultural  associations  formed  by  the  his- 
torical nations.  A good  illustration  of  this  difficulty  is 
found  in  language ; every  one  knows  that  a language  is  not 
inherited,  for  if  such  were  the  case  a person  would  speak 
French,  Algonquian,  or  Chinese  according  to  his  parentage, 
and  not  according  to  his  first  associates.  Neither  are  shoot- 
ing with  bows  or  kindling  fire  with  firedrills  inherited.  Yet, 
such  are  the  elements  that  constitute  culture-complexes.  It 
appears,  then,  that  the  form  and  direction  the  development 
of  culture  takes  is  something  of  another  sort  from  that  fol- 
lowed by  organic  evolution,  because  the  perpetuating  mech- 
anism is  not  the  same.  Further,  the  knowledge  we  now 
possess  of  culture  prohibits  any  fundamental  distinctions  in 
this  respect  between,  say,  the  Eskimo  and  the  English,  for 
in  neither  case  is  the  particular  form  of  culture  perpetuated 
by  direct  inheritance.  The  phenomenon  of  English  culture 
is  made  the  subject  matter  of  English  history,  but  it  is  a fair 
assumption  that  the  causes  that  operate  in  it  are  of  the  same 
general  type  as  those  that  operate  in  Eskimoan  culture. 
Hence,  in  dealing  with  problems  of  culture,  we  must  take 
our  points  of  regard  from  the  historian,  because  he  deals 
with  the  phenomena  where  the  approaches  are  most  com- 
plete and  direct.  We  assume,  therefore,  that  the  culture 
complex  of  the  Eskimo  grew  up  in  the  same  type  manner 
as  that  of  England  and  is,  in  other  words,  a historical  fact. 
Both  are  conceived  of  as  perpetuated  and  evolved  by  social 
mechanisms.  On  the  other  hand,  the  straight  black  hair  of 
the  New  World  native  and  the  more  specific  cephalic  char- 
acter of  the  Eskimo  are  not  facts  of  the  same  series  and 
are  perpetuated  by  a mechanism  we  call  inheritance. 

It  seems  strange  that  these  two  series  of  facts  should  be 
continually  confused  to  the  extent  of  reading  the  interpre- 
tations arising  from  one  directly  into  the  structure  of  the 
other.  In  so  far,  then,  as  anthropology  deals  with  culture, 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


388 

which  is,  after  all,  the  only  distinctly  human  phenomenon 
in  the  objective  sense,  it  conceives  of  it  as  historical  phe- 
nomena and  this  conception  is  in  so  far  the  soul  of  its 
method.  But  anthropology  is  something  more  than  the 
study  of  culture;  it  is  essentially  a coordinating  and  syn- 
thetizing  science.  It  seeks  to  bring  to  bear  upon  the  prob- 
lem of  man  the  full  joint  force  of  geology,  zoology,  and 
history.  To  do  this  is  a no  mean  task,  a task  which  offers 
the  greatest  possible  scientific  opportunity  of  the  age. 


1.  Mooney,  1896.  I. 

9.  Fletcher,  1904.  I. 

2.  Radin,  1914.  II. 

10.  Goldenweiser,  1910.  I. 

3.  Wissler,  1916.  I. 

li.  Lowie,  1916.  II. 

4.  Wissler,  1914.  I. 

12.  Mason,  1895.  I. 

5.  Graebner,  1911.  I. 

13.  Wissler,  1914.  I. 

6.  Ehrenreich,  1903.  I. 

14.  Wilson,  G.  L.,  1917.  I. 

7.  Goldenweiser,  1913.  I;  Lowie, 

15.  Wissler,  1916.  II. 

1912.  I. 

16.  Wissler,  1916.  I. 

8.  Goldenweiser,  1913.  I;  Lowie, 

17.  Tylor,  1889.  I;  Czekanowski, 

1912.  I. 

1911.  I. 

CHAPTER  XXI 
NEW  WORLD  ORIGINS 

The  aim  of  the  preceding  chapters  has  been  to  convey 
a general  idea  of  the  content  of  the  science  of  anthropology 
in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  the  New  World.  The  ultimate  goal 
of  investigation  in  this  field  in  the  New  World  is  the  dis- 
covery of  the  origin  of  the  Indian  and  the  causes  and  con- 
ditions leading  to  the  development  of  his  culture.  Though 
thus  simply  stated,  the  problem  is  truly  complex.  We  have 
seen  what  a great  array  of  facts  must  be  considered  and 
how  one  must  draw  upon  the  resources  of  zoology,  geogra- 
phy, and  geology,  before  the  various  parts  of  the  problem 
can  be  formulated  for  critical  consideration.  As  to  the 
origin  of  the  New  World  man  himself,  we  have  achieved 
one  point:  viz.,  that  he  migrated  hither  from  Asia  where 
his  nearest  relatives  still  reside.  Yet,  we  are  far  from  the 
truth  as  to  the  exact  relationship  between  the  Indian  and 
the  Asiatic,  and  have  still  much  to  learn  as  to  his  own 
sub-divisions.  Again,  when  we  turn  to  culture,  we  are 
confronted  with  another  problem  of  origins.  One  of  our 
objectives  in  this  volume  has  been  the  formulation  of  the 
anthropological  view  of  culture  to  which  end  we  have  re- 
viewed and  classified  the  facts,  or  manifestations,  of  the 
phenomenon  of  culture  in  so  far  as  they  seemed  necessary 
to  the  comprehension  of  current  problems  and  interpreta- 
tions. This  view  we  have  stated  to  be  the  historical  con- 
ception of  culture  origins. 

Now,  with  the  main  facts  before  us  and  recognizing  that 
the  differentiation  of  cultures  is  a historical  phenomenon, 

389 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


390 

we  should  be  able  to  project  the  general  outlines  of  man’s 
career  in  the  New  World.  Recalling  our  conclusion  that 
the  Indian  came  here  from  Asia  at  a relatively  recent  period, 
we  find  ourselves  confronted  with  the  question  as  to  what 
elements  of  culture  man  brought  with  him  when  he  crossed 
over  to  America.  Even  the  casual  reader  will  be  impressed 
by  the  close  general  parallelism  between  the  two  halves  of 
the  world,  and,  it  is  this  obvious  fact  more  than  anything 
else,  that  has  stimulated  speculative  writings  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Repeated  efforts  have  been  made  to  show  that  all  the 
higher  culture  complexes  of  the  New  World  were  brought 
over  from  the  Old,  particularly  from  China  or  the  Pacific 
Islands.  Most  of  these  writings  are  merely  speculative  and 
may  be  ignored,  but  some  of  the  facts  we  have  cited  for 
correspondences  to  Pacific  Island  culture  have  not  been  satis- 
factorily explained.  Dixon 1 has  carefully  reviewed  this 
subject,  asserting  in  general  that  among  such  traits  as  blow- 
guns,  plank  canoes,  hammocks,  lime  chewing,  head-hunting 
cults,  the  man’s  house  and  certain  masked  dances  common 
to  the  New  World  and  the  Pacific  Islands,  there  appears  the 
tendency  to  mass  upon  the  Pacific  side  of  the  New  World. 
This  gives  these  traits  a semblance  of  continuous  distribu- 
tion with  the  Island  culture.  Yet  it  should  be  noted  that 
these  traits,  as  enumerated  above,  have  in  reality  a sporadic 
distribution  in  the  New  World  and  that  there  are  exceptions. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  great  a priori  improbability 
that  some  of  these  traits  did  reach  the  New  World  from  the 
Pacific  Islands.  Satisfactory  proof  of  such  may  yet  be 
attained,  but  such  discoveries  would  not  account  for  New 
World  culture  as  a whole.  Then  there  are  abundant  data  to 
show  that  the  Polynesians  are  recent  arrivals  in  the  Pacific ; 2 
in  fact,  Maya  culture  must  have  been  in  its  prime  when 
they  were  within  striking  distance  of  the  American  coast. 

In  the  preceding  discussions,  we  found  evidences  of  a 
certain  unity  in  the  fundamentals  of  culture  for  all  parts 


NEW  WORLD  ORIGINS  391 

of  the  New  World,  and  unless  we  find  among*  these  some 
fundamentals  that  are  also  conspicuous  in  the  Old  World, 
we  need  look  no  farther  than  the  New  for  their  place  of 
origin.  The  Old  World  also  has  its  fundamental  traits, 
particularly  the  ancient  cultures  of  Asia,  but  so  far,  few  close 
parallels  between  these  and  those  of  the  New  have  come 
to  light.  Again,  the  originality  of  many  New  World  traits 
is  apparent  when  our  subject  is  viewed  from  the  cultural 
horizon  of  the  Old  World.  It  has  been  very  aptly  said 
that  the  fundamentals  of  Old  World  culture  are  expressed 
by  the  terms  “cereals,  cattle,  plough,  and  wheel.”  3 Yet, 
what  have  we  found  in  the  New  World  that  can  be  set 
down  as  specifically  similar  to  these?  We  are  left,  there- 
fore, little  choice  but  to  recognize  that  the  cultures  of  the 
New  World  peoples  were  developed  independently  of  the 
ancient  centers  of  higher  culture  in  the  Old. 

The  old  argument  against  such  a conclusion  was  that  the 
barbarous  Indian  was  incompetent  to  develop  the  cultures 
of  Yucatan  and  Peru.  This  view  is  now  somewhat  anti- 
quated, but  still  lingers  as  a kind  of  intellectual  reaction  in 
the  minds  of  modern  Europeans.  Perhaps  back  of  it  is  a 
habit  of  thought,  since  in  Old  World  culture,  in  which  we 
ourselves  live  and  think,  fundamental  traits  are  often  found 
to  have  a single  origin.  For  example,  the  horse,  ox,  wheat, 
glass,  printing,  gunpowder,  etc.,  seem  to  have  had  each  a 
single  place  of  origin  from  which  they  were  diffused.  Yet, 
in  contemplating  New  World  culture  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  comparisons  between  the  two  hemispheres  should 
be  specific.  It  will  not  do,  for  instance,  to  say  that  because 
agriculture  is  found  in  both  the  Old  and  New  Worlds  one 
must  have  been  derived  from  the  other,  for  we  are  here 
dealing  with  a mere  abstraction,  like  eating,  writing,  fish- 
ing, etc.  The  proper  method  is  to  examine  the  agricultural 
traits  found  in  each  hemisphere.  Thus,  one  basic  factor  m 
agriculture  is  the  development  of  specific  food  plants.  Let 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


392 

us,  therefore,  compare  the  plants  cultivated  by  the  Indian 
with  those  grown  in  the  Old  World. 

De  Candolle  4 has  listed  more  than  forty  plants  grown 
by  the  Indians  whose  wild  ancestors  were,  without  reason- 
able doubt,  peculiar  to  the  New  World.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  ancestors  of  the  leading  food  plants  of  the  Old  World 
have  been  found  peculiar  to  it.  Thus,  we  find  that  each 
hemisphere  developed  agriculture  by  drawing  upon  its  own 
peculiar  flora  and  that  in  consequence  their  seed  lists  had 
nothing  in  common  before  1492.  Now,  when  we  consider 
the  rapidity  with  which  maize,  tobacco,  and  other  New 
World  plants  were  taken  up  in  the  Old  World  after  the  corn- 
memorable  voyage  of  Columbus,  it  is  scarcely  conceivable 
that  the  peoples  of  the  two  hemispheres  could  ever  have 
been  in  contact  without  exchanging  some  of  their  seeds,  and 
certainly  impossible  to  assume  that  the  agriculture  of  the 
New  World  was  directly  derived  from  the  Old. 

But  our  case  does  not  rest  upon  this  one  observation,  for 
there  are  others  of  almost  equal  weight.  The  wheel  is  a 
fundamental  concept  in  the  Old  World  and  clearly  of  great 
antiquity,  but  is  singularly  absent  from  the  New  World,5 
even  its  spinners  and  potters  failing  to  grasp  the  principle. 
The  use  of  iron  is  another,  though  perhaps  later,  invention 
of  the  Old  World  that  remained  peculiar  to  it.  However, 
the  facts  of  cultivated  plants  and  the  wheel,  which  must  be 
very  ancient  in  origin,  make  a strong  case  for  the  peopling 
of  the  New  World  either  at  a very  remote  period  or  by  wild 
tribes  only,  such  as  might  arise  from  contact  between  the 
historic  tribes  of  Alaska  and  Siberia. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  New  World  peoples  did  achieve 
some  of  the  specific  inventions  of  the  Old;  for  instance,  the 
making  of  bronze  and  casting  gold,  silver,  copper,  etc. ; again, 
in  certain  methods  of  weaving  and  dyeing.  It  is  sometimes 
objected  that  the  knowledge  of  these  traits  could  have  been 
handed  over  or  relayed  from  southern  Asia  to  Mexico  by 


NEW  WORLD  ORIGINS 


393 


the  intervening  wild  tribes;  but  this  seems  fanciful,  for 
while  we  do  find  certain  traits  spread  over  adjacent  parts 
of  the  two  continents,  as  the  sinew-backed  bow,  the  bow- 
driil,  the  magic  flight  myth,  the  opium  type  of  smoking,  all 
of  which  are  considered  as  of  Asiatic  origin,  their  distribu- 
tion is  continuous  from  Alaska  downward,  and  fades  out 
before  we  reach  the  southern  continent.  Further,  it  has  been 
assumed  that  the  ideas  underlying  a trait  could  be  carried 
along  as  part  of  a myth  and  so  pass  from  one  of  the  higher 
cultures  of  Asia  to  Mexico  by  way  of  Siberia  and  Alaska. 
There  is  no  a priori  improbability  in  this  notion  that  specific 
ideas  can  be  carried  from  tribe  to  tribe  as  constituent  parts 
of  mythical  tales.  The  difficulty  is  that  notwithstanding  our 
very  complete  knowledge  of  typical  tribal  mythologies,  we 
are  so  far  unable  to  find  examples  of  such  extensive  trans- 
missions of  the  process  concepts  underlying  specific  culture 
traits.  As  we  have  noted  under  Mythology,  myths  do  seem 
to  have  carried  a few  mythical  conceptions  from  the  Old 
World  to  the  New,  but  these  have  remained  as  mere  parts 
of  tales  and  do  not  function  in  practical  life. 

Hence,  the  general  condition  for  any  interpretation  of  Old 
and  New  World  relations  is  the  full  recognition  that  their 
great  culture  centers  were  well  isolated  by  a complex  chain 
of  wilder  hunting  peoples  and  that  direct  contact  between 
the  two  was  impossible  without  modem  means  of  transpor- 
tation. Only  such  traits  could,  therefore,  filter  through 
from  one  to  the  other  as  were  assimilated  by  these  more 
primitive  tribes.  When  we  consider  their  great  number  and 
the  diversity  of  their  speech,  we  realize  that  Mexico'  was 
completely  isolated  from  China  in  agriculture,  metal  work, 
and  similar  arts,  but  not  necessarily  so  in  simpler  traits  like 
the  sinew-backed  bow.  The  proof  of  independent  develop- 
ment thus  rests  largely  in  chronological  and  environmental 
relations. 

The  age-societies  of  the  Plains  Indians  of  North  America 


394 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


are  an  illustration  of  this  point.  The  only  other  places  in 
the  world  where  they  exist  seem  to  be  in  Melanesia  and 
eastern  Africa.  In  each  case  they  have  a restricted  distri- 
bution.6 What,  then,  shall  be  said  of  this  case?  If  simi- 
larity in  culture  is  in  itself  evidence  of  common  or  genetic 
origin,  then  these  peoples  must  have  been  in  contact  with 
each  other.  But  there  are  no  reasons  for  believing  that  they 
ever  were  in  contact.  Yet,  there  are  those  who  would  re- 
gard these  societies  as  survivals  of  a time  when  all  the 
world  had  them  as  a part  of  its  culture.  Now  the  best 
way  to  approach  this  assumption  is  tO'  appeal  to  chronology. 
These  societies  in  America  have  been  thoroughly  studied;  i 
yet,  none  of  the  recorded  facts  favors  their  antiquity  of 
origin.  In  fact,  a few  Plains  tribes  are  known  to  have 
acquired  some  of  these  societies  within  a century  and  for 
the  phenomenon  as  a whole,  500  to  700  years  seems  a liberal 
estimate  of  its  age.  But  what  chances  had  these  tribes  to 
meet  the  Melanesian  or  the  Masai  of  Africa  during  this 
period?  Further,  this  age-grading  system  in  America  can 
be  identified  with  one  group  of  villages  in  the  heart  of  the 
Plains  area,  from  whom  it  was  borrowed  by  the  other  tribes. 
These  villages  must,  therefore,  be  considered  as  the  origina- 
tors of  the  trait  as  it  appears  in  the  New  World. 

We  must  not  overlook  one  difficulty  in  dealing  with  cul- 
ture similarities  of  this  kind ; viz.,  the  proof  that  these  simi- 
larities are  real.  Recently,  Elliot  Smith7  revived  the  dis- 
cussion of  certain  elephant-like  figures  found  on  Maya  sculp- 
tures. In  this  case,  we  may  doubt  the  reality  of  the  simi- 
larity between  these  figures  and  southern  Asiatic  drawings 
of  elephants,  because  those  who  have  studied  the  Maya  sculp- 
tures themselves,  instead  of  the  pencil  sketches  made  by 
earlier  observers,  find  proof  that  another  creature  was  in  the 
artist’s  mind.  In  cases  of  this  kind  when  we  are  dealing 
with  the  conventionalized  drawings  of  the  New  World  and 
the  Old,  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  that  the  mere  objective 


NEW  WORLD  ORIGINS 


395 

similarity  between  a few  of  these  drawings  is  to  be  taken  as 
proof  of  their  identity  in  origin.  Other  check  data  must  be 
appealed  to  before  even  a useful  working  hypothesis  can  be 
formulated.  Yet,  if  it  should  ultimately  turn  out  that  a 
stray  vessel  did  drift  ashore  in  Mexico  and  land  a sculptor 
who  created  a new  art  motif  such  would  be  a mere  incident 
in  the  culture  history  of  the  New  World.  Further  research 
into  the  chronology  of  archaeological  remains  ought  to  show 
just  how  abruptly  this  fancied  elephant  motif  appeared  and 
at  what  relative  period.  In  such  chronological  data  the 
basis  for  the  real  solution  to  the  problem  may  be  expected. 

Again,  when  the  similarity  of  cultural  phenomena  has 
actually  been  demonstrated,  empirical  procedures  cease  and 
interpretation  begins.  This  interpretation  is,  in  last  analy- 
sis, speculative.  It  is  truly  amusing  to  read  some  passages 
in  current  anthropological  literature  in  which  writers  who, 
considering  their  own  observations  of  similarity  valid,  offer 
the  most  fantastic  interpretations  which  they  assert  are 
strictly  empirical.  We  should  bear  in  mind,  then,  that  the 
comparative  study  of  Old  and  New  World  cultures  is  no 
mere  diversion.  Superficial  and  hasty  comparisons  will  re- 
tard rather  than  hasten  the  solution  of  the  main  problem. 
Patient,  unremitting  toil  in  the  trenches  of  the  archgeologist, 
and  not  spectacular  flights  on  the  part  of  curio  hunters  and 
literary  enthusiasts,  will  show  at  what  periods,  and  in  what 
forms,  the  assumed  similarities  came  into  existence. 

We  must  now  take  leave  of  our  brief  review  of  culture  in 
the  New  World.  We  have  found  the  highest  centers  of 
culture  in  Mexico  and  Peru  to  be  not  really  unique  growths, 
but  to  possess  many  of  the  fundamental  traits  common  to 
the  wilder  folk  in  the  marginal  areas  of  both  continents. 
New  World  culture  is  thus  a kind  of  pyramid  whose  base 
is  as  broad  as  the  two  Americas  and  whose  apex  rests  over 
Middle  America.  We  have  found  no  just  ground  for  as- 
suming that  the  culture  of  the  Maya  was  projected  into  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


396 

New  World  from  the  Old,  where  it  rested  as  an  isolated 
replica  of  cultures  beyond  the  Pacific.  That  influences  of 
various  kinds  did  reach  the  New  World  from  the  Old 
is  apparent,  but  each  of  these  must,  upon  its  own  merits, 
particularly  as  to  its  chronology,  be  subjected  to  the  most 
exacting  investigation. 

However,  the  discovery  of  New  World  origins  is  not 
merely  a problem  in  culture.  Language  is  also  regarded  as 
a reliable  index  to  origin.  So  far,  no  evidence  has  come  to 
hand  that  would  identify  a single  New  World  language  with 
an  Old  World  stock.  In  fact,  the  only  language  found  in 
both  America  and  Asia  is  the  speech  of  the  Eskimo,  repre- 
sented in  Asia  by  a small  group  of  villages,  on  the  extreme 
eastern  coast  of  Siberia.  This  exception  may  be  ignored  in 
this  instance.  Then,  though  there  is  great  diversity  of  lan- 
guage within  the  New  World  itself,  we  have  a right  to  ex- 
pect that  if  colonies  were  planted  here  by  an  Old  World  cul- 
ture, such  colonization  would  have  grafted-in  Old  World 
tongues.  Yet,  so  far,  there  is  no  trace  of  such  intrusion. 
Hence,  as  the  case  stands  to-day  in  language,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  separation  of  New  World  man  from  the  man 
of  the  Old  World,  was  exceedingly  remote,  so  remote  that 
the  existence  of  an  advanced  state  of  culture  among  the 
original  stock  is  improbable. 

Finally,  there  is  the  question  of  blood.  Our  review  of 
New  World  somatic  characters  revealed  the  essential  unity 
of  the  Indian  population.  It  is  also  clear  that  there  are 
affinities  with  the  mongoloid  peoples  of  Asia.  Hence,  we  are 
justified  in  assuming  a common  ancestral  group  for  the 
whole  mongoloid-red  stream  of  humanity.  We  have  already 
outlined  the  reasons  for  assuming  the  pristine  home  of  this 
group  to  be  in  Asia,  but  when  it  comes  to  locating  the  pre- 
cise cradle  land  of  this  parent  group,  we  must  proceed  with 
caution.  This  is,  however,  not  of  prime  importance,  for 
if  we  start  with  the  known  facts,  the  present  distribution  of 


NEW  WORLD  ORIGINS 


397 


the  mongoloid-red  stem,  we  note  that  it  concentrates  in  the 
colder  northern  halves  of  both  hemispheres  where  the  cul- 
tures of  its  units  are  primitive,  but  that  in  each  case  its 
southern  outposts  developed  complex  cultures.  The  New 
World  branch  can  claim  originality  for  its  high  center  and 
while  it  is  clear  that  the  ancient  Chinese  center  was  stimu- 
lated by  non-mongoloid  centers,  the  pioneer  students  of 
Chinese  origins  have  already  presented  a strong  brief  for 
their  priority  in  many  Old  World  inventions.8  Thus,  the 
future  may  lead  to  the  opinion  that  inherent  in  this  mongo- 
loid  stem  was  a germ  of  originality  which  blossomed  forth 
wherever  the  environment  permitted,  and  we  may  be  able 
by  contrasting  these  two  independent  cultures — the  ancient 
Chinese  and  the  Maya — with  those  of  southern  Asia  and 
Europe,  to  arrive  at  last  at  the  knowledge  of  elements  pecul- 
iar to  both.  What  these  may  be,  we  can  but  guess,  but 
there  seems  to  be  a similarity  between  the  Indians  and  the 
Asiatics  in  the  weakness  for  loosely  coordinated  social 
groups,  failure  to  develop  nationalism,  and  relatively  greater 
regard  for  tradition.  Returning  to  our  subject,  we  may 
note  that  the  geographical  position  of  these  two  centers  of 
higher  cultures  on  the  frontiers  of  the  extended  swarming 
ground  of  the  mongoloid-red  stem,  one  of  which  could  not 
have  been  borrowed  from  the  other,  necessitates  the  assump- 
tion of  a northern  cradle  land  and  an  expansion  into  more 
favorable  environments.  It  also  presupposes  a main  horde 
of  the  mongoloid-red  peoples  with  a culture  not  materially 
different  from  that  of  the  great  mass  of  wilder  North  Asiatic 
and  American  tribes  known  to  history.  Like  a great  cres- 
cent this  horde  stretched  from  Cape  Horn,  through  Alaska, 
across  Asia  and  beyond  to  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  and  the 
Mediterranean.  It  appears,  in  the  main,  as  a virile  horde 
of  hunting  and  fisher  folk  most  at  home  in  cold,  elevated 
or  semi-arid  lands.  Among  other  traits,  we  find  the  main 
body  characterized  by  tailored  skin  clothing,  the  sinew- 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


398 

backed  bow,  the  snowshoe,  the  sled,  etc.  These  are  all 
fairly  primitive  characters;  yet,  wherever  the  outposts  of 
this  great  horde  met  with  favorable  uplands  they  developed 
agriculture  and  other  complex  traits.  It  seems,  therefore, 
that  the  solution  of  our  New  World  problem  lies  as  much 
in  the  heart  of  Asia  as  in  Mexico  or  Peru.  But,  reverting 
once  more  to  this  great  mongoloid-red  horde,  we  may  ask 
from  what  sources  in  its  primitive  cultures  sprang  the  im- 
pulses that  produced  the  two  great  cultures  of  ancient  China 
and  Yucatan?  In  the  New  World,  the  fundamentals  of 
Maya  culture  are  found  among  the  wilder  folk;  in  Asia 
there  are  also  evidences  that  Chinese  culture  sprang  from 
the  primitive  heritage  of  the  original  mongoloid  group  set- 
tling in  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  River.9  And  while  it  is 
true  that  the  most  fundamental  traits  in  Old  World  cul- 
ture can  not  be  ascribed  to  these  same  early  Chinese,  they 
did,  nevertheless,  achieve  great  originality  in  the  invention 
of  new  traits,  many  of  which  are  now  elements  of  modern 
culture.  Hence,  unless  we  return  once  more  to  the  old 
theory  of  the  fall  of  man,  we  must  look  upon  these  two 
great  cultural  achievements  as  the  special  contributions  of 
the  mongoloid-red  peoples  to  the  culture  of  mankind. 

Now,  as  a final  conclusion  to  this  volume  on  the  man  of 
the  New  World  and  his  culture,  we  beg  the  reader’s  indul- 
gence in  the  formulation  of  an  hypothetical  statement.  The 
New  World  received  a detachment  of  early  mongoloid  peo- 
ples at  a time  when  the  main  body  had  barely  developed 
stone  polishing.  That  this  was  contemporaneous  with  the 
appearance  of  stone  polishing  in  Europe  does  not  necessarily 
follow,  for  future  research  in  Asia  may  show  it  to  have  been 
much  earlier.  One  or  more  periods  of  climatic  change  fol- 
lowed, cutting  off  ready  communication  with  the  mother- 
land and  forcing  both  the  Old  and  New  World  wings  south- 
ward. In  the  former,  they  came  in  contact  with  other 
differentiated  groups  from  whom  they  received  culture 


NEW,  WORLD  ORIGINS 


399 


stimuli,  but  in  the  New  World  they  had  only  themselves. 
Yet,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  increase  of  numbers  and  the 
development  of  sub-social  groups  led  to  considerable  varie- 
ties of  culture.  Some  of  the  probable  traits  brought  from 
the  mother-land  are  the  firedrill,  stone  chipping,  twisting  of 
string,  the  bow,  throwing  stick,  the  harpoon,  simple  basketry 
and  nets,  hunting  complexes,  cooking  with  stones  in  ves- 
sels of  wood,  bark  or  skin,  body-painting,  and  perhaps  tat- 
tooing, and  the  domestication  of  the  dog.  Some  of  these 
may  have  filtered  through  Alaska  from  time  to  time,  but 
the  facts  in  the  case  favor  the  view  that  in  the  main  they 
cafrne  in  with  the  original  emigrants.  Independently,  the 
New  World  developed  agriculture,  pottery,  the  higher  types 
of  basketry  and  cloth  weaving,  the  working  of  the  softer 
metals  and  the  manufacture  of  bronze.  The  progress  in 
astronomical  knowledge  and  the  fine  arts  compares  favor- 
ably with  that  achieved  by  the  early  Asiatics.  Yet,  in  all 
we  see  the  marks  of  originality  which  are  alone  sufficient 
evidence  of  their  independent  origin. 

The  centers  of  civilization  in  the  New  World  were  the 
highlands  of  Mexico  and  western  South  America  which, 
as  they  developed,  reacted  to  the  stimulus  of  their  more 
backward  brothers  in  other  parts  of  the  land  in  much  the 
same  fashion  as  did  the  different  groups  of  mongoloid  peo- 
ples in  Asia.  One  of  the  significant  points  in  our  discussion 
has  been  the  identification  of  the  fundamental  widely  dif- 
fused complexes  in  the  cultures  of  the  New  World,  many 
of  which  seem  to  center  in  the  Mexican  and  Andean  regions 
of  higher  civilization  and  from  which  their  respective  radia- 
tions are  often  apparent.  The  more  recent  studies  of  ancient 
Chinese  culture  show  that  a somewhat  parallel  condition 
existed  in  Asia.  Apparently,  then,  we  have  a more  isolated 
people  in  the  New  World  who  did  not  travel  the  road  to 
higher  culture  so  rapidly  as  their  relatives  in  Asia,  the  con- 
nection between  whose  centers  of  development  having  long 


400 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


been  broken  by  climatic  changes  and  later  almost  completely 
blocked  by  hordes  of  primitive  hunter  and  fisher  folk.  As  to 
what  a few  more  thousand  years  of  this  freedom  would 
have  done  for  the  New  World,  we  can  but  speculate,  for 
in  the  sixteenth  century  a calamity  befell  the  New  World, 
the  like  of  which  has  no  exact  parallel  in  history.  A mili- 
tant civilization  from  without,  fired  by  a zeal  not  only  to 
plunder  the  material  treasures  of  mankind,  but  to  seize  the 
very  souls  of  men  in  the  name  of  its  God,  fell  upon  the  two 
great  centers  of  aboriginal  culture  like  a thunderbolt  from 
a clear  sky.  The  blow  was  mortal.  But  the  man  of  the 
New  World  went  down  fighting  and,  though  his  feeble  sur- 
vivors still  keep  up  the  struggle  in  a few  distant  outposts,  the 
first  great  onslaught  that  annihilated  the  Aztec  and  the  Inca, 
marks  the  end  of  our  story.  In  this  volume  we  have  been 
concerned  only  with  the  history  of  a race  and  a culture  to 
which  those  aboriginal  city  states  were  the  culmination.  As 
we  look  back  upon  the  long  and  tortuous  career  of  man  in 
the  New  World,  comprehend  his  crude  equipment  as  he  first 
set  foot  upon  the  land,  and  pass  in  review  his  later  achieve- 
ments, we  cannot  but  regret  that  the  end  came  so  suddenly. 


1.  Dixon,  1912.  I. 

2.  Haddon,  1911.  I. 

3.  Laufer,  1914.  I. 

4.  De  Candolle,  1902.  I. 

5.  Tylor  (no  date) ; Means, 
1916.  I. 


6.  Lowie,  1916.  II. 

7.  Elliot  Smith,  1915.  I;  1916.  I. 

8.  Laufer,  1914.  I. 

9.  Laufer,  1914.  I. 


APPENDIX 

LINGUISTIC  TABLES  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  CANADA 


After  J.  W.  Powell 

In  this  compilation  we  have  thought  best  to  be  conservative. 
As  noted  in  the  text,  claims  have  been  put  forward  for  the 
consolidation  of  several  stocks,  but  since  these  are  still  under 
discussion,  and  some  of  the  leading  American  linguists  are 
not  convinced,  we  think  best  to  follow  the  old  classification. 
The  chief  changes  proposed  are  the  consolidation  of  the 
Piman,  Shoshonean,  and  Nahuatlan  stocks;  the  transfer  of 
Wishoskan  (Wiyot)  and  Weitspekan  (Yurok)  to  the  Al- 
gonquian;  the  combination  of  Wintun  (Copehan),  Maidu 
(Pujunan),  Yokuts  (Mariposan),  Moquelumnan  (Miwok), 
and  Costanoan  under  the  name  Penutian;  and  the  grouping 
of  Shasta,  Chimariko,  Quoratean  (Karok),  Porno  (Kulana- 
pan),  Esselenian,  and  Yuman  under  the  name  Hokan. 

The  United  States  census  of  1910  compiled  a statistical 
list  of  the  Indians  according  to  their  stocks,  from  which,  and 
the  current  reports  of  the  Canadian  government,  we  have 
taken  the  population  numerals  added  to  each  stock  designa- 
tion in  this  list.  The  total  population,  as  reported,  is  383,- 
151.  The  number  of  extinct  stocks  is  six,  leaving  fifty 
stocks  still  spoken  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  though 
of  these  twelve  are  on  the  verge  of  extinction. 

*•  Algonquian,  or  Algonxin  (90,975): 

A.  Blackfoot.  1.  Piegan.  2.  Blood.  3.  North  Blackfoot. 

B.  Cheyenne.  1.  Northern  and  Southern  Cheyenne.  2.  Probably 

the  Sutaio  (extinct). 

C.  Arapaho.  1.  Northern  and  Southern  Arapaho.  2.  Gros‘  Ventre 

(Atsina). 

D.  Eastern-Central  Division: 

a.  Cree-Montagnais  Type.  1.  Cree.  2.  Montagnais.  3. 
Naskapi.  4.  Menomini.  5.  Sauk  and  Fpx.  6.  Kick- 
apoo.  7.  Shawnee.  8.  Abnaki-Micmac  Type  (AbnaH 
403 


404 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Pennacook,  Micmac,  Malecite,  Passamaquoddy,  and 

Penobscot). 

b.  OjihwayType.  I.  Ojibway.  2.  Potawatomi.  3.  Ottawa. 

4.  Aigonkin.  5.  Peoria.  6.  Natick.  7.  Delaware. 
8.  Illinois.  9.  Miami. 

c.  Massachuset  Type.  1.  Massachuset.  2.  Narraganset. 

3.  Wampanoag.  4.  Nauset.  5.  Montauk.  6.  Nipmuk 
(possibly).  7.  Connecticut  River  Indians  (possibly). 

d.  Uncertain  Type.  1.  Unami.  2.  Unalachtigo.-  3.  Mun- 

see.  4.  Wappinger.  5.  Mahican.  6.  Pequot. 

e.  Unclassified.  1.  Nanticoke.  2.  Conoy.  3.  Powhatan. 

4.  Weapemeoc.  5.  Secotan.  6.  Pam  unkey.  7.  Pianka- 
shaw.  8.  Mattapony.  9.  Chickahominy. 

2.  Athapascan  (53,212): 

A.  Northern  Group : 

a.  Highland  Tribes.  1.  Loucheux.  2.  Sekani.  3.  Carrier. 

4.  Babine.  5.  Nahane  (Tahltan,  Taku,  Kaska).  6. 
Chilkotin. 

b.  Lower- Yukon.  1.  Kaiyuhkhotana.  2.  Koyukukhotana. 

3.  Knaiakhotana.  4.  Unakhotana. 

c.  Upper  Yukon.  1.  Tenankutchin.  2.  Tennuthkutchin. 

3.  Kutchakutchin.  4.  Natsitkutchin.  5.  Vuntakutchin. 
6.  Tukkutchkutchin.  7.  Hankutchin.  8.  Tutchone 
Kutehin.  9.  Tatlitkutchin.  10.  Kwitchakutehin. 

d.  Mackenzie  Tribes.  1.  Slavey.  2.  Chipewyan.  3.  Dog- 

rib.  4.  Hares.  5.  Yellow  Knives. 
e»  Beaver. 

f.  Sarsi. 

g.  Ahtena. 

B»  Pacific  Coast  Group : 

a.  Hupa  Type.  1.  Hupa.  2.  Whilkut. 

b.  Kato  Type.  1.  Kato.  2.  NongaL  (Saiaz).  3.  Wailaku 

4.  Sinkyone.  5.  Metolle  (?). 

c.  Tolowa  Type.  1.  Tolowa.  2.  Shasta  Costa.  3.  Tututni. 

4.  Galise  Creek. 

d.  Coquille. 

e.  Umpqua. 

£.  Tlatskanai. 

C.  Southern  Group : 

a.  San  Carlos  Type.  1.  San  Carlos  Apache.  2.  White  Moun- 

tain Apache.  3.  Chiricahua  Apache.  4.  Tonto.  5. 
Coyotero.  6.  Mescalero  Apache.  7.  Navajo. 

b.  Jicarilla  Type.  1.  Jicarilla  Apache.  2.  Kiowa  Apache. 

3.  Lipan  Apache. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


405 


3.  Attacapan  (extinct): 

A.  Eastern  Dialect . 

B.  Western  Dialect. 

4.  Beothukan  (extinct;  some  reason  for  assuming  it  to  be  Algonquian). 

5.  Caddoan  (1863): 

A.  Northern  Group.  1.  Ankara 

B.  Middle  Group : 

a.  Pawnee  Type.  1.  Skidi.  2.  Chaui.  3.  Kitkahaxki.  4. 
Pitahauirata. 

C.  Southern  Group.  1.  Caddo.  2.  Wichita.  3,  Kichai.  4.  Tawa  - 

koni.  5.  Waco. 

6.  Chimakuan  (306): 

A.  Ckimakum. 

B.  Quileute.  1.  Hoh. 

7.  Chimarikan,  or  Chimariko  (31): 

Member  of  the  proposed  Hokan. 

8.  Chimmesyan  (2155): 

A.  Tsimshian. 

B.  Kitksan . 

C.  Niska. 

Chinookan  (897): 

A.  Upper  Chinook.  1.  Wasco.  2.  Wishram.  3.  Kathlamet.  4. 

Klackamas. 

B.  Lower  Chinook.  1.  Clatsop.  2*  Chinook  proper. 

10.  Chitimachan,  or  Chitimacha  (69). 

11.  Chumashan  (38): 

A.  San  Luis  Obispo . 

B.  Central  Group.  1.  San  Buenaventura.  2.  Santa  Barbara.  3. 

Santa  Ynez. 

C.  Island  Group.  1.  Santa  Cruz. 

12.  Coahuiltecan,  or  Carrizo  (extinct): 

A.  Pakawa. 

B.  Comecrudo. 

C.  Cotoname . 

13.  COSTANOAN  (17): 

A.  Northern  Division.  I.  San  Francisco.  2.  San  Jose.  3.  Santa 

Clara.  4.  Santa  Cruz. 

B.  Southern  Division.  1.  San  Juan  Bautista.  2.  Soledad.  3.  Mom 

terey.  (Members  of  the  proposed  Penutian.) 


4o6  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

14.  Eskimauan  (30,000  ?): 

A.  Eastern  Eskimo  Dialects: 

a.  Greenland  Eskimo,  f.  Uperrtavik.  2.  Disco  Bay.  3. 

Ammassalik.  4.  Oommannaq  Fiord.  5.  Smith  Sound» 

b.  Baffin  Land. 

c.  Labrador. 

B.  Probable  Central  Eskimo  Dialects . I.  West  shore  of  Hudson 

Bay.  2.  Southampton  Island:  3.  Melville  Peninsula. 

4.  Boothia  Peninsula.  5.  Part  of  Baffin  Land.  6.  Vic* 
toria  Island. 

C.  Western  Eskimo  Dialects.  I.  Kadiak  Island.  2.  Bristol  Bay. 

3.  Mouth  of  Yukon  River.  4.  Norton  Sound.  5.  Kotze* 
bue  Sound.  6.  Point  Barrow.  7.  Mouth  of  Mackenzie 
River. 

D.  Aleut.  1.  Unalaska.  2.  Atkans. 

15.  Esselenian  (extinct): 

Member  of  the  proposed  Hokan. 

16.  Haida  (961): 

A.  Masset  Dialect.  1.  Howkan.  2.  Klinkwan.  3.  Kasaart. 

B.  Skidegate  Dialect. 

Hokan: 

Proposed  name  for  the  combined  Chimarikan,  Esselenian,  Shastan, 
Quoratean  (Karok),  Porno  (Kulanapan);  and  Yuman 
stocks. 

17.  Iroquoian  (50,160): 

A.  Huron , or  Wyandot. 

B.  Tionontati. 

C.  Attiwendaronk , or  Neutrals. 

D.  Conkhandeenrhonon. 

E.  Iroquois.  1.  Mohawk.  2.  Oneida.  3.  Onondaga.  4,  Cayuga. 

5.  Seneca.  6.  Tuscarora. 

F.  Conestoga , or  Susquehanna. 

G.  Erie. 

H.  Nottaway. 

I.  Meherrin. 

J.  Cherokee.  1.  Elati.  2.  Middle  Cherokee.  3.  Atali. 

K.  Onnontioga. 

18.  Kalapoolan  (106): 

A.  Kalapooia , Santiam,  Lakmiut,  Ahantsayuk,  Mary's  River  Che-) 

penafal). 

B.  Yamhill , Atfalati. 

C.  Yonkalla. 

D.  Chelamela. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


407 


19.  Karankawa  (extinct). 

20.  Keresan  (4027): 

A.  Western  Villages.  1.  Acoma.  2.  Laguna. 

B.  Eastern  Villages.  1.  Cochiti.  2.  Sia.  3.  Santa  Ana.  4.  San 

Felipe.  5.  Santo  Domingo. 

21.  Kiowan,  or  Kiowa  (1126). 

22.  Klamath  (978): 

A.  Modoc. 

B.  Klamath. 

23.  Kusan  (93): 

A. _  Melukitz. 

B.  Anasitch. 

C.  Mulluk. 

D.  Nasumi. 

24.  Kutenai  (1091): 

A.  Upper  Kutenai.  1.  Akiskemikinik.  2.  Akamnik.  3.  Akane- 

kunik.  4.  Akiyenik. 

B.  Lower  Kutenai. 

25.  Maidu,  or  Pujunan  (1100): 

Three  dialects:  Northwestern,  Northeastern,  Southern. 

Members  of  the  proposed  Penutian. 

26.  Moquelumnan,  or  Miwok  (699): 

A.  Coast  Dialects.  1.  Marin,  or  Southern  Coast.  2.  Bodega,  or  West- 

ern Coast.  3.  Lake,  or  Northern  Coast. 

B.  Interior  Dialects: 

a.  Plains,  or  Northwestern. 

b.  Sierra  Dialects.  1.  Amador.  2.  Tuolumne.  3.  Mariposa. 

(Members  of  the  proposed  Penutian.) 

37,  Muskhogean  (29,  191): 

A.  Muskhogean  Proper: 

a.  Southern  Division:  1.  Hitchiti  Group:  Hitchiti,  Mika- 

sauki,  Sawokli.  2.  Apalachee.  3.  Yamasi  (?).  4.  Ala- 
bama Group:  Alibanm,  Koasati,  Tuskegee.  5.  Choctaw 
Group:  Choctaw;  Northern  Choctaw,  SixtOwns  Choc- 
taw; Chickasaw. 

b.  Northern  Division.  1.  Muskogee  proper,  or  Creek:  Upper 

Creek,  Lower  Creek,  Seminole. 

B.  Natchez  Dialects.  1.  Avoyel,  Taensa, 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


408 

Penutian. 

Proposed  name  for  the  combined  Wintun  (Copehan),  Maidu  (Pu- 
junan),  Yokuts  (Mariposan),  Moquelumnan  (Miwok), 
and  COstanoan  stocks. 

28.  Piman  (8607): 

A.  Pima. 

B.  Papago. 

(Probably  a member  of  the  proposed  Uto-Aztecan,  or  Na- 
huatlan  family— see  following  table.) 

29.  Pomo,  or  Kulanapan  (1193): 

There  are  seven  dialects  designated  as  Northern,  Central,  Eastern, 
Southwestern,  Southern,  Southeastern,  and  Northeast- 
ern, all  members  of  the  proposed  Hokan. 

30.  Quoratean,  or  Karok  (775): 

Member  of  the  proposed  Hokan. 

31.  Salinan  (16): 

A.  San  Antonio . 

B.  San  Miguel. 

32.  Salishan  (18,097): 

A.  Interior  Dialects: 

a.  Lillooet. 

b.  Ntlakyapamuk  (Thompson  Indians). 

c.  Shuswap. 

d.  Okinagan.  1.  Colville.  2.  Nespelim,  or  Sanpoil.  3.  Se- 

mjextee. 

e.  Flathead.  1.  Spokan.  2.  Kalispel,  or  Pend  d’Oreille.  3. 

Salish,  or  Flathead. 

f.  Cceur  d'Alene. 

g.  Columbia  Group.  1.  Pisquow,  or  Wenatchi.  2.  Sinkiuse. 

3.  Methow. 

B.  Coast  Dialects: 

a.  Bella  Coola. 

b.  Comox  Group:  (a)  Comox:  1.  Comox.  2.  Eeksen.  3. 

Homalko.  4.  Kaake.  5.  Kakekt.  6.  Seechelt.  7.  Sli- 
hmmon.  8.  Tatpoos;  (b)  Puntlatsh:  1.  Hwahwatl. 
2.  Puntlatsh.  3.  Saamen. 

C.  Cowichan  Group,  (a)  Vancouver  Island:  r.  Clemclem- 
alats.  2.  Cowichan.  3.  Hellelt..  4.  Kenipsim.  5. 
Kilpanlus.  6.  Koksilah.  7.  Kulleets.  8.  Lilmalche. 
9.  Malakut.  10.  Nanaimo.  11.  Kwantlin.  12.  Pen- 
elakut.  13.  Quamichan.  14.  Siccameen.  15.  Sno- 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


409 


nowas.  16.  Somenos.  17.  Tateke.  1 8.  Yekoloas;  ( b ) 
Fraser  Valley:  1.  Chehalis.  2.  Chilliwack*  3.  Coquit- 
lam. 4.  Ewawoos.  5.  Katsey.  6.  Kelatl.  7.  Kwant- 
len.  8.  Matsqui.  9.  Musqueam.  10.  Nehaltmoken. 
II.  Nicomen.  12.  Ohamil.  13.  Pilalt.  14.  Popkum. 
15.  Samahquam.  ,16.  Scowlitz.  17.  Sewathen.  18. 
Siyita.  19.  Skwalvalooks.  20.  Snonkweametl.  21. 
Squawtits.  22.  Sumass.  23.  Tsakuam. 

d.  Squawmish  Group.  I.  Squawmish.  2.  Nooksak. 

e.  Songish  Group.  1.  Clallam.  2.  Lummi.  3.  Lkungen.  4. 

Samish.  5.  Sanetch.  6.  Semiahmoo.  7.  Songish.  8. 
Sooke. 

f.  Nisqualli  Group,  (a)  Nisqualli:  1.  Dwamish.  2.  Puyal- 

lup. 3.  Skagit.  4.  Snoqualmu,  or  Snoquamish.  5.  Squax- 
on;  ( b ) Snohomish. 

g.  Twana  Group.  1.  Twana.  2.  Sailupsun. 

h.  Chehalis  Group.  1.  Quinault.  2.  Quaitso.  3.  Humptu- 

lips.  4.  Lower  Chehalis.  5.  Satsop.  6.  Upper  Chehalis. 
7.  Cowlitz. 

i.  Tillamook.  1.  Tillamook,  or  Nestucca.  2.  Siletz. 

33-  Shahaptin  (4391): 

A.  Klikitat. 

B.  Nez  Perce. 

C.  Paloos. 

D.  Topinish. 

34.  Shastan  (1578): 

A.  Shasta. 

B.  Konomihu. 

C.  New  River. 

D.  Okwanuchu. 

E.  Achomawi.  1.  Astakiwi.  2.  Atuaml.  "'3.  Chumawi.  4.  Han- 

tiwi.  5.  Humawhi.  6.  Ilmawi. 

F.  Atsugewi  ( Pakamali ). 

(Members  of  the  proposed  Hokan.) 

35.  Shoshonean  (16,842): 

A.  Pueblo  Group.  1.  Hopi. 

B.  Plateau  Group: 

a.  Ute-Chemehuevi.  1.  Ute.  2.  Paiute  of  Southern  Nevada. 

3.  Chemehuevi.  4.  Kawaiisu.  5.  Uintah  Ute.  6* 
Southern  Ute.  7.  Uncompahgre. 

b.  Shoshoni-Comanche  Group.  1.  Shoshoni.  2.  Comanche. 

3.  Koso  (Panamint). 


E.  Umatilla. 

F.  Wallawalla. 

G.  Warm  Springs . 

H.  Yakima. 


4io 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


c.  Mono-Paviotso.  i.  Monachi,  or  Mono.  2.  Northern  Pai- 
ute,  or  Paviotso.  3.  Snake.  4.  Bannock. 

C.  Kern  River  Group.  1.  Tiibatulabal.  2.  Bankalachi. 

D.  Southern  California  Group: 

a.  Serrano.  1.  Serranos.  2.  Gitanemuk. 

b.  Gabrielino.  1.  Mission  of  San  Gabriel.  2.  Mission  of  San 

Fernando. 

c.  Luiseno-Cahuifla.  1.  Luiseno.  2.  Juaneno.  3.  Cahuilla. 

4.  Agua  Caliente. 

(Probably  a member  of  the  proposed  Uto-Aztecan,  or 
Shoshonean-Nahuatlan  family.) 

36.  Siouan  (40,801): 

A.  Dakota- A ssiniboin: 

a.  Eastern,  or  Santee  Dakota.  1.  Mdewakanton.  2.  Wahpe- 

kute.  3.  Sisseton.  4.  Wahpeton. 

b.  Yankton. 

c.  Yanktonai. 

d.  Teton.  1.  Brule.  2.  Oglala.  3.  Sans  Arc.  4.  Blackfoot. 

5.  Miniconjou..  6.  Two-Kettle.  7.  Hunkpapa. 

e.  Assiniboin.  1.  Stoney.  2.  Turtle  Mountain  Sioux. 

B.  Dhegiha.  1.  Kansa.  2.  Omaha.  3.  Osage.  4.  Ponca.  5. 

Quapaw. 

C.  Cliiwere.  1.  Iowa.  2.  Missouri.  3.  Oto.  4.  Winnebago. 

D.  Mandan. 

E.  Hidatsa.  1.  Crow.  2.  Hidatsa. 

F.  Biloxi.  I.  Biloxi.  2.  Ofo. 

G.  Eastern.  1.  Catawba.  2.  Tutelo.  3.  An  indefinite  number  of 

extinct  tribes. 

37.  Siuslaw  (7): 

A.  Siuslaw. 

B.  Lower  Umpqua , or  Kuitc. 

38.  Takelma  (i): 

A.  Takelma. 

B.  Upper  Takelma. 

39.  Tanoan  (3140): 

A.  Tiwa.  1.  Taos.  2.  Picuris.  3.  Sandia.  4.  Isleta.  5.  Isleta  del 

Sur.  6.  Piro  (extinct). 

B.  Towa.  1.  Jemez.  2.  Pecos  (extinct). 

C.  Tewa.  1.  San  Juan.  2.  Santa  Clara.  3.  San  Ildefonso.  4. 

Nambe.  5.  Pojoaque.  6.  Tesuque.  7.  Hano. 


40.  Timucuan  (extinct). 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


41 1 

41.  • TlInGit,  or  Koluschan  (4458) : 

A.  Tlingit.  1.  Auk.  2.  Chilkat.  3.  Henya.  4.  Huna.  5.  Kake. 

6.  Kuiu.  7.  Sanyakoan.  8.  Sitka.  9.  Stikine.  10.  Sumdum. 
IX.  Taku.  12.  Tongas.  13.  Yakutat. 

B.  Tagish. 

42.  Tonka wa  (42)  : 

A.  Tonkawa. 

B.  Ervipiame. 

43.  Tunican  (43): 

A.  Tunica. 

B.  Koroa. 

C.  Yazoo. 

44.  Uchean  (78): 

A.  Yuchi. 

Uto-Aztecan: 

Name  proposed  for  the  combined  Nahuatlan,  Piman,  and  Shosho- 
nean  stocks. 

45.  Waiilatpuan  (329): 

A.  Cay  use.  B.  Molala. 

46.  Wakashan  (4538): 

A.  Nootka. 

B.  Kwakiutl : 

a.  Haisla  Dialect.  1.  Kitamat.  2.  Kitlope. 

b.  Heiltsuk  Dialect.  1.  Bellabella.  2.  China  Hat.  3.  No- 

huntsitk.  4.  Somehulitk.  5.  Wikeno. 

c.  Kwakiutl.  (a)  Koskimo:  1.  Klaskino.  2.  Koprino.  3. 

Koskimo.  4.  Quatsino;  ( b ) Nawiti:  1.  Nakomgilisala. 
2.  Tlatlasikoala;  (c)  Kwakiutl:  1.  Awaitlala.  2.  Goa- 
sila.  3.  Guauaenok.  4.  Hahuamis.  5.  Koeksotenok. 
6,  Kwakiutl.  7.  Lekwiltok.  8.  Mamalelekala.  9.  Na- 
koatok.  16.  Nimkish.  11.  Tenaktak.  12.  Tlauitsis. 
13.  Tsawatonok. 

47.  Washoan  (819): 

A.  Washo, 

48.  Weitspekan,  or  Yurok  (668): 

A.  River  Dialects. 

B.  Coast  Dialects, 


C.  May  eye. 

D.  Yojuane. 


D.  Tioux. 

E.  Grigra. 


4I2  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

49.  WlNTUN,  or  COPEHAN  (710): 

A.  Northern  Division , or  Wintun. 

B.  Southern  Division , or  Patwin. 

(A  member  of  the  proposed  Penutian.) 

50.  WlSHOSKAN,  or  WlYOT  (152): 

(Possibly  Algonquian.) 

51.  Yakona  (55): 

A.  Yaquina. 

B.  Alsea. 

52.  Yanan  (39): 

A.  Northern  Yana.  C.  Southern  Yana. 

B.  Central  Yana.  D.  Yahi. 

53.  Yokuts,  or  Mariposan  (533): 

Yokuts: 

(According  to  Kroeber  there  are  seven  dialectic  groups  with  a 
total  of  about  fifty  tribes,  all  members  of  the  proposed 
Penutian.) 

54.  Yukian  (198): 

A.  Yuki  proper.  C.  Huchnom. 

B.  Coast  Yuki.  D.  Wappo. 

55.  Yuman  (4279): 

A.  Eastern  Group.  1.  Havasupai.  2.  Walapai.  3.  Tonto.  4.  Ya- 

vapai. 

B.  Central  Group.  1.  Mohave.  2.  Yuma.  3.  Maricopa.  4.  Die- 

gueno.  5.  Cocopa. 

C.  Lower  California  Group.  1.  Kiliwi  and  Santo  Thomas.  2.  Co- 

chimi.  3.  Waikuru. 

(Members  of  the  proposed  Hokan.) 

56.  Zunian,  of  Zuni  (1667). 

LINGUISTIC  STOCKS  OF  MEXICO  AND 
CENTRAL  AMERICA 

The  following  tabulation  has  been  compiled  after  Thomas 
and  Swan  ton  (Bulletin  44,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology). 
As  will  be  noted  in  the  text  of  these  authors,  the  place  of  many 
groups  is  far  from  certain  so  that  this  classification  is  not  so 
definite  as  the  preceding.  It  should  rather  be  taken  as  the 
first  preliminary  lay-out  of  the  subject. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


1.  Athapascan  (See  preceding  Table): 

A.  Apache. 

B.  Toboso. 

2.  Chiapanecan: 

A.  Chiapaneco. 

B.  Mangue  ( Choluteca ). 

3.  Chibchan  (See  South  American  Table) : 

A.  Guatuso. 

B.  Vota,  or  Boto. 

C.  Guetare. 

4.  Chinantecan. 

5.  Cunan  (See  South  American  Table): 

A.  San  Bias. 

6.  Huavean  (probably  Zoquean). 

7.  Janambrian: 

A.  Pisone  (extinct). 

B.  Xanambre  (extinct). 

8.  Jicaquean: 

A.  Xicaque. 

9.  J incan: 

A.  Xinca. 

B.  Sinacanta. 

10.  Laguneros. 

11.  Lencan. 

12.  Mayan: 

A.  Huastec. 

B.  Maya.  1.  Lacandone.  2.  Itza 

(Peten).  3.  Mopan. 

C.  Chontal. 

D.  Tzotzil. 

E.  Choi. 

F.  Chahabal. 

G.  Chicomucelteco . 

H.  Motozintleca. 

I.  Chuje. 

J.  Jacalteca. 


C.  Dirian. 

D.  Orolinan . 


D.  Talamanca. 

E.  Guaymie. 

F.  Doraskean. 


C.  Jupiltepequc. 

D.  Jutiapa. 


K.  Mam. 

L.  Ixil. 

M.  Aguacaleca. 

N.  Kiche. 

O.  Cakchiquel. 

P.  Tzutuhil. 

Q.  Uspanteca. 

R.  Kekchi. 

S.  Pokonchi. 

T.  Pokomam . 

U.  Chord. 


414  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

*3.  Matagalpan: 

A.  Matagalpa. 

B.  Cacaopera. 

C.  Lislique. 

14.  Mosquitoan. 


15.  Nahuatlan: 

A.  Piman  (See  preceding  Table). 

1.  Pima  Alto.  2.  Pima  Bajo. 
3.  Pima  Bamoa.  4.  Potlap- 
igua.  5.  Tepehuane  villages. 

B.  Opata.  1.  Eudeve.  2.  Jova,  or 

Ova. 

C.  Tarahumare. 

D.  Seri. 

B.  Yaqui.  I.  Mayo.  2.  Tehueco. 
3.  Yaqui. 

F.  Zoet  Baimena.  1.  Tepehue 

and  Tepehuane  (extinct). 

G.  Acaxee  (extinct?).  1.  Acaxee. 

2.  Jijinse  (Xixime).  3.  Sa- 
baibo.  4.  Teloca. 

16.  Olivean. 

17.  Otomian: 

A.  Mazahua. 

B.  Oiomi. 

18.  Pakawan  (Coahuiltecan). 


H.  Cora . 

I.  Huichol. 

J.  Tepecano,  Teule,  Caxcan, 

Tecuexe. 

K.  Concho  (extinct). 

L.  Zacateco. 

M.  Guachichile. 

N.  Nio  (extinct). 

O.  Aztec. 

P.  Pipil. 

Q.  Niquiran . 

R.  Sigua. 


C.  Pame. 

D.  Pirinda. 


19.  Payon. 

20.  Subtiaban  (Maribi). 

21.  Tamaulipecan. 

22.  Tarascan. 

23.  Tequistlatecan. 

24.  Totonacan: 

A.  Totonac . 

B,  Tepehua. 

25.  Ulvan. 

st§.  Waicurian: 

A.  Wa'icmi. 

B.  Pericu. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


415 


27.  Yuman  (See  preceding  Table), 

28.  Zapotecan: 

A.  Amishgo. 

B.  Chatino. 

C.  Chocho. 

D.  Cuicateco. 

29.  Zoquean: 

A.  Mixe. 

B.  Popoloco. 


E.  Mazateco. 

F.  Mixteco. 

G.  Trike. 

H.  Zapotecd. 

C.  Tapachula. 

D.  Zoque. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA 

The  classification  of  South  American  linguistic  groups  can- 
not be  so  precisely  summarized  as  in  the  preceding.  The  most 
comprehensive  tabulation  is  offered  by  Chamberlain  {American 
Anthropologist , Vol.  XV,  236),  whose  nomenclature  we  have 
followed  throughout.  We  have  not  attempted  a full  enume- 
ration of  the  tribes  under  each  stock  because  the  chaotic  state 
of  the  subject  makes  such  an  undertaking  inadvisable.  There- 
fore, the  reader  is  referred  to  Brinton’s  American  Race  and 
Markham’s  List  of  Tribes  in  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon , etc. 
{Journal  Anthrop . Inst.,  Vol.  XXIV,  pp.  236-284)  for  the 
names  of  tribal  subdivisions.  However,  we  have  noted  the 
stock  affiliations  for  a few  of  the  best  known  tribes. 

1.  Alikulufan: 

Alikulufs,  Karaikas. 

2.  Allentiacan  (extinct): 

Allentiac  or  Huarpes  (Guarpes). 

3.  Andaqulan,  or  Andaquis. 

4.  Apolistan. 

5.  Araucanian. 

6.  Arawakan: 

A.  Arawak  of  the  Mainland.  1.  Arawak.  2.  Atorai  (also  Dauri  or 
Tauri).  3.  Bare.  4.  Campas  (also  Anti  or  Ande).  5.  Guan& 
(also  Chuala,  Chabacana,  Echenoana,  Echoaladi).  6.  Ipu- 
rinas.  7.  Kustenau.  8.  Maipure.  9.  Manaos.  10.  Maopityan. 
11.  Moxos,  or  Mojos.  12.  Paiconeca.  13.  Paumari  (also  Pau-, 


416 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


mary,  Pamaouri,  Pammary).  12.  Sarav6ca  (or  Sarab6ca). 
13.  Tarum&.  14.  Wapisiana  (also  Wapiana,  Wapityan).  15. 
Waura.  16.  Yamamadi  (or  Jamamadi).  17.  Yumana  (or 
Jumana). 

B.  A rawak  in  Haiti.  I.  Taino. 

C.  Arawak  in  the  Lesser  Antilles.  1.  Ineri  (or  Igneri,  Iriy 

D.  Arawak  in  the  Bahamas.  1.  Lucayans. 

7.  Ardan  (extinct). 

8.  Atacamenan,  or  Likananta. 

9.  Aymaran. 

10.  Barbacoan. 

11.  Betoyan. 

12.  Bororan. 

13.  Calchaquian  (extinct,  also  Cacan,  Diaguitas). 

14.  Canarian  (extinct). 

15.  Canichanan,  or  Canisiana. 

16.  Carayan,  or  Carajas. 

17.  Cariban: 

A.  Accauai,  A palais,  Apiacas,  Bakairis,  Galibis,  Guaques,  Guahari- 

bos,  Ipuricotos,  Kalinas,  Macusis,  Motilones,  Nahuquas,  Pal - 
mellas,  Pimenteiras , Rocouyennes,  Wayawai . 

B.  Caribs  in  the  Orinoco  Region.  1.  Maquiritares. 

18.  Caririan. 

19.  Cayubaban  (or  CayuvAva,  Cayuaba,  Chacobos). 

20.  Changoan  (extinct). 

21.  Chapacuran: 

Chapacurc  (or  Tapacura),  Napeka,  Pawumwa,  Quitemocas. 

22.  CharruaN  (extinct?). 

23.  Chavantean. 

24.  Chibchan  (See  preceding  Table): 

Aruaes,  Chibchas,  Doraskeans,  Guatusan,  Guaymis * Guetare , Tala- 
manca,  T umbos. 

25.  Chiquitan: 

Manacicas. 


26.  Chocoan. 

27.  Cholonan. 

28.  Chonoan. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS 


417 


29.  Coconucan: 

Coconucos,  Guanucos,  Moguexes , Totoros. 

30.  Corabecan  (extinct) - 

31.  Cunan  (Cunas  or  San  Blas): 

Cunas,  San  Bias  Indians. 

32.  Cxjrucanecan  (extinct). 

33.  Enimagan  (or  Machicui,  Muscovi,  or  Maskoi). 

34.  Esmeraldan. 

35.  Goyatacan, 

36.  Guahiban. 

37.  Guaraunan  (Warraus). 

38.  Guatoan. 

39.  Guaycuruan 

Abipones,  Guachis,  Mbocobis,  Tobas. 

40.  Itonaman. 

41.  Itucalean  (extinct?). 

Itucale  (also  Uarina,  or  Urarina). 

42.  Jivaran.  (This  is  Jebero  or  Xebero  of  the  Mainan  stock,  q. v.,  accord- 

ing to  Beuchat  and  Rivet.) 

43.  J URIAH. 

44.  Lecan  or  Atenxanos. 

45.  Lqrenzan. 

46.  Lulean. 

47.  Mainan  (See  Jivaran). 

48.  Makuan. 

49.  Matacan. 

50.  Miranhan,  or  Maranha: 

Boro,  Witto. 


4l8 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


51.  Mocoan. 

52.  Mosatenan. 

53.  Moviman,  or  Mobima. 

54.  Muran. 

55.  OCORONAN. 

56.  Onan. 

57.  Otomacan. 

58.  Otuquian  (extinct?). 

59.  Paniquitan: 

Paezes,  Panches,  Paniquilas. 

60.  Panoan: 

Cashibos,  Conibos,  Pacaguaras,  Panos. 

61.  Peban. 

62.  PlAROAN. 

63.  Puelchean: 

Chechehets,  Diuihets , Taluhets. 

64.  Puinavian. 

65.  Puquinan  (extinct?). 

66.  Quechuan: 

Canas,  Incas , Kechuas,  Quitus . 

67.  Salivan. 

68.  Samucan. 

69.  Sanavironan  (extinct). 

70.  Tacanan: 

Araunas,  Cavinas,  Maropas,  Sapiboconas . 

71.  Tapuyan: 

Botocudos,  Gis,  Puris,  Suyas,  Tapuya,  Tucano. 

72.  Ticunan. 

73.  Timotean  (extinct). 

74*  Trumaian. 


LINGUISTIC  STOCKS, 


419 


75.  Tsonekan  (Tehuelchean). 

76.  Tupian: 

Cocamas,  Guaranis,  Jacundas , Mundrucus,  Murast  Omttgws , Tapes* 
Turas. 

77.  Uitotan  (Kaimo). 

78.  Uran. 

79.  Yahganan. 

80.  Yaruran. 

81.  YpuRiNAN-(Hypurman)tt 

82.  Yuncan. 

S3.  Yurucarean. 

84.  Zaparan. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  publications  listed  here  are  those  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  the  text.  This  bibliography  is,  therefore,  not  in 
any  sense  complete,  but  lists  the  special  contributions  and 
sources  of  data  that  have  been  immediately  serviceable  in 
the  preparation  of  this  volume  and  which  will,  upon  perusal, 
furnish  the  concrete  materials  necessary  to  a more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  phenomena  of  our  subject. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Abbott;  C.  C. 

1877.  I.  Stone  Age  in  New  Jersey.  Washington,  1877. 

Adair,  James. 

1775.  I.  The  History  of  the  American  Indians,  etc.  London,  1775. 
Alexander,  Hartley  Burr. 

1916.  I.  North  American  Mythology.  The  Mythology  of  All  Races, 
vol.  10,  Boston,  1916. 

1920.  I.  Latin- American.  The  Mythology  of  All  Races,  vol.  11, 
Boston,  1920. 

Allen,  Glover  M. 

1920.  I.  Dogs  of  the  American  Aborigines  (Bulletin,  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zoology,  Harvard  College,  vol.  63,  no.  9,  1920). 
Allen,  J.  A. 

1876.  I.  The  American  Bisons,  Living  and  Extinct  (Memoirs,  Geo- 
logical Survey,  Kentucky,  vol.  1,  part  2,  Cambridge,  1876). 
Anales  de  Cuauhtitlan. 

1886.  I.  Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico,  Appendix  to  vol.  3. 
Mexico,  1886. 

Atkinson,  Alfred.  See  Wilson,  N.  L.,  and  Atkinson,  Alfred. 
Bandelier,  Adolph  F. 

1878.  I.  On  the  Distribution  and  Tenure  of  Lands  and  the  Customs 
with  Respect  to  Inheritance,  among  the  Ancient  Mexicans 
(Eleventh  Annual  Report,  Peabody  Museum  of  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  2,  no.  2,  pp.  384-448,  Cambridge, 

1878) . 

1879.  I.  Social  Organization  and  Mode  of  Government  of  the  An- 
cient Mexicans  (Twelfth  Annual  Report,  Peabody  Museum  of 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  2,  no.  3,  Cambridge, 

1879) . 

1884.  I.  Report  of  an  Archaeological  Tour  in  Mexico  in  1881 
(Papers,  Archaeological  Institute  of  America,  American  Series, 
vol.  2,  Cambridge,  1884). 

1890.  I.  Final  Report  of  Investigations  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Southwestern  United  States,  carried  on  mainly  in  the  years 
from  1880  to  1885  (Papers,  Archaeological  Institute  of  America, 
American  Series,  vol.  3,  Cambridge,  1890). 

Barnes,  Earl  and  Mary  S. 

1896.  I.  Education  among  the  Aztecs  (Studies  in  Education,  Leland 
Stanford,  Jr.  University,  vol.  1,  no.  2,  pp.  73-80,  1896). 

423 


424 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Barrett,  S.  A. 

1908.  I.  Pomo  Indian  Basketry  (University  of  California  Publica- 
tions in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  7,  no.  3, 
Berkeley,  1908). 

Beckwith,  Marthe  Warren. 

1907.  I.  Dance  Forms  of  the  Moqui  and  Kwakiutl  Indians 
(Congres  International  des  Americanistes,  XVe  session,  Quebec, 
1907). 

Berry,  Richard  A.  J.  and  Robertson,  A.  W.  D. 

1914.  I.  The  Place  in  Nature  of  the  Tasmanian  Aboriginal  as  De- 
duced from  a Study  of  his  Calvaria — Part  2,  His  Relation  to 
the  Australian  Aboriginal  (Proceedings,  Royal  Society  of  Edin- 
burgh, vol.  39,  part  2,  pp.  144-189,  1914). 

Boas,  Franz. 

1888.  I.  The  Central  Eskimo  (Sixth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  Washington,  1888). 

1895.  I.  Zur  Anthropologie  der  nord-amerikanischen  Indianer  (Zeit- 
schrift  fur  Ethnologie,  vol.  27,  pp.  366-411,  1895). 

1897.  I-  The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Indians  of  the  North  Pacific 
Coast  (Bulletin,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  9, 
art.  10,  New  York,  1897). 

1897.  II.  The  Social  Organization  and  Secret  Societies  of  the 
Kwakiutl  Indians  (Report,  United  States  National  Museum  for 
1895,  Washington,  1897). 

1901.  I.  A.  J.  Stone’s  Measurements  of  Natives  of  the  Northwest 
Territories  (Bulletin,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
vol.  14,  art.  6,  New  York,  1901). 

1903.  I.  The  Decorative  Art  of  the  North  American  Indians  (Popu- 
lar Science  Monthly,  October,  1903). 

1906.  I.  The  Tribes  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast  (Annual  Archaeologi- 
cal Report,  1905,  Appendix,  Report,  Minister  of  Education,  On- 
tario, Toronto,  1906). 

1907.  I.  The  Eskimo  of  Baffin  Land  and  Hudson  Bay  (Bulletin, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  15,  New  York, 

1907). 

1909.  I.  The  Kwakiutl  of  Vancouver  Island  (Memoirs,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  8,  part  2,  New  York,  1909). 

1910.  I.  Changes  in  Bodily  Form  of  Descendants  of  Immigrants 
(The  Immigration  Commission,  Senate  Document  no.  208,  Wash- 
ington, 1910). 

1911.  I.  Handbook  of  American  Indian  Languages  (Bulletin  40,  Bu- 
reau of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1911).  Editor. 

1911.  II.  The  Mind  of  Primitive  Man.  New  York,  1911. 

1912.  I.  The  History  of  the  American  Race  (Annals,  New  York 
Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  21,  pp.  177-183,  New  York,  1912). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


425 


Boas,  Franz. 

1914.  I.  Mythology  and  Folk-Tales  of  the  North  American  Indians 
(Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  27,  pp.  374-410,  Lancaster, 

1914). 

1916.  I.  The  Origin  of  Totemism  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S., 
vol.  18,  pp.  319-326,  Lancaster,  1916). 

1916.  II.  Phonetic  Transcription  of  Indian  Languages  (Smithsonian 
Miscellaneous  Collections,  vol.  66,  no.  6,  Washington,  1916. 
[Report  of  Committee  of  American  Anthropological  Association, 
with  Goddard,  Sapir,  Kroeber]). 

See  also  Emmons,  1907.  I;  Teit,  1898.  I;  Teit,  1909.  I. 

Bogoras,  Waldemar. 

1904.  I.  The  Chukchee — Material  Culture  (Memoirs,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  vol.  11,  part  1,  Leiden  and  New  York, 
1904). 

Boman,  Eric. 

1908.  I.  Antiquites  de  la  Region  Andine  de  la  Republique  Argentine. 
Paris,  1908. 

Bowman,  Isaiah. 

1916.  I.  The  Andes  of  Southern  Peru.  Geographical  Reconnais- 
sance along  the  Seventy-third  Meridian  (American  Geographical 
Society  of  New  York,  New  York,  1916). 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  C.  E. 

1861.  I.  Popol  Vuh.  Le  Livre  sacre  et  les  Mythes  h-eroi'ques  et  his- 
toriques  des  Quiches,  etc.  Brussels,  1861. 

Brinton,  Daniel  G. 

1882.  I.  American  Hero-Myths.  A Study  in  the  native  Religions  of 
the  Western  Continent.  Philadelphia,  1882. 

1882.  I.  The  Maya  Chronicles.  Philadelphia,  1882. 

1885.  I.  The  Lenape  and  their  Legends;  with  the  Complete  Text 
and  Symbols  of  the  Walum  Olum,  a new  Translation,  and  an 
Inquiry  into  its  Authenticity.  Philadelphia,  1885. 

1885.  II.  The  Annals  of  the  Cakchiquels.  The  Original  Text,  with  a 
Translation,  Notes  and  Introduction.  Philadelphia,  1885. 

1890.  I.  Essays  of  an  Americanist.  Philadelphia,  1890. 

1891.  I.  The  American  Race.  Philadelphia,  1891. 

Brower,  J.  V. 

1904.  I.  Mandan.  (Memoirs  of  Explorations  in  the  Basin  of  the 
Mississippi,  Contributions  by  E.  R.  Steinbrueck,  St  Paul,  Min- 
nesota, 1904). 

Burton,  Frederick  R. 

1909.  I.  American  Primitive  Music  with  Especial  Attention  to  the 
Songs  of  the  Ojibways.  New  York,  1909. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Bushnell,  David  I.,  Jr. 

1909.  I.  The  Various  Uses  of  Buffalo  Hair  by  the  North  American 
Indians  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  11,  pp.  401-425, 
Lancaster,  1909). 

Carr,  Lucien. 

1896.  I.  The  Food  of  Certain  American  Indians  and  their  Methods 
of  Preparing  It  (Proceedings,  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
N.  S.  vol.  10,  Worcester,  1896). 

Chamberlain,  Alexander  F. 

1913.  I.  Linguistic  Stocks  of  South  American  Indians,  with  Dis- 
tribution-Map (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp. 
236-247,  Lancaster,  1913). 

Chapin,  F.  Stuart. 

1913.  I.  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Social  Evolution:  The 
Prehistoric  Period.  New  York,  1913. 

Church,  Col.  G.  E. 

1912.  I.  Aborigines  of  South  America.  London,  1912. 

Coffin,  Geraldine.  See  Waterman,  T.  T.  and  Coffin,  Geraldine. 

Collins,  G.  N. 

1914.  I.  Pueblo  Indian  Maize  Breeding  (The  Journal  of  Heredity, 
vol.  5,  no.  6,  pp.  255-268,  Washington,  June,  1914). 

1919.  I.  A Fossil  Ear  of  Maize  (The  Journal  of  Heredity,  vol.  10, 
no.  4,  pp.  170-172,  Washington,  April,  1920). 

Crawford,  M.  D.  C. 

1915.  I.  Peruvian  Textiles  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  vol.  12,  part  3,  New  York,  1915). 

1916.  I.  Peruvian  Fabrics  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  vol.  12,  part  4,  New  York,  1916). 

Curtis,  Edward  S. 

1903-1913.  I.  The  North  American  Indian.  Vols.  1-9,  Cambridge, 
1903-1913. 

Curtis,  Natalie. 

1907.  I.  The  Indian's  Book.  New  York  and  London,  1907. 

Cushing,  Frank  Hamilton. 

1884.  I.  Zuni  Breadstuff,  V (The  Millstone,  vol.  9,  November, 
1884;  Reprinted  in  Indian  Notes  and  Monographs,  Museum  of 
the  American  Indian,  Heye  Foundation,  vol.  8,  New  York,  1920). 

1895.  I.  The  Arrow  (American  Anthropologist,  vol.  8,  pp.  307-349, 
Washington,  1895). 

Cushman,  H.  B. 

1899.  I.  A History  of  the  Choctaw,  Chickasaw  and  Natchez  In- 
dians. Greenville,  Texas,  1899. 

Czekanowski,  Jan. 

1911.  I.  Objektive  Kriterien  in  der  Ethnologie  (Korrespondenz- 
Blatt  der  Deutschen  Gesellschaft  fur  Anthropologie,  Ethnologie 
und  Urgeschichte,  vol.  42,  Braunschweig,  pp.  71-75,  I911)* 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


427 


Dall,  William  H. 

1877.  I.  On  Succession  in  the  Shell-Heaps  of  the  Aleutian  Islands 
(Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  vol.  1,  Washing- 
ton, 1877). 

De  Candolle,  Alphonse. 

1902.  I.  Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants.  New  York,  1902. 

JDeniker,  J. 

1900.  I.  The  Races  of  Man : An  Outline  of  Anthropology  and 

Ethnography.  London,  1900. 

Densmore,  Frances. 

1910.  I.  Chippewa  Music,  I (Bulletin  45,  Bureau  of  American 

Ethnology,  Washington,  1910). 

1913.  I.  Chippewa  Music,  II  (Bulletin  53,  Bureau  of  American 

Ethnology,  Washington,  1913). 

1918.  I.  Teton  Sioux  Music  (Bulletin  61,  Bureau  of  American 

Ethnology,  Washington,  1918). 

Dixon,  Roland  B. 

1902.  I.  Basketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northern  California 
(Bulletin,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  17,  part  1, 
New  York,  1902). 

1912.  I.  The  Independence  of  the  Culture  of  the  American  Indian 
(Science,  N.  S.  vol.  35,  pp.  46-55,  January,  1912). 

1913.  I.  Some  Aspects  of  North  American  Archaeology  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp.  549-577,  Lancaster,  1913). 

1914.  I.  The  Early  Migrations  of  the  Indians  of  New  England  and 
the  Maritime  Provinces  (Proceedings,  American  Antiquarian  So- 
ciety, N.  S.  vol.  24,  part  1,  pp.  65-76,  Worcester,  1914). 

Dixon,  Roland  B.  and  Kroeber,  A.  L. 

1903.  I.  The  Native  Languages  of  California  (American  Anthropol- 
ogist, N.  S.  vol.  5,  pp.  1-26,  Lancaster,  1903). 

1913.  I.  New  Linguistic  Families  in  California  (American  Anthro- 
pologist, N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp.  647-655,  Lancaster,  1913). 

1919.  I.  Linguistic  Families  of  California  (University  of  California 
Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  16, 
no.  3,  pp.  47-h8,  Berkeley,  1919). 

Dobrizhoffer,  Martin. 

1822.  I.  An  Account  of  the  Abipones,  an  Equestrian  People  of 
Paraguay.  3 vols.  London,  1822. 

Dorsey,  George  A. 

1903.  I.  Arapaho  Sun  Dance;  the  Ceremony  of  the  Offering  Lodge 
(Publications,  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Anthropological  Series, 
vol.  4,  Chicago,  1903). 

Dorsey,  J.  O. 

1894.  I.  A Study  of  Siouan  Cults  (Eleventh  Annual  Report,  Bu- 
reau of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1894). 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


428 

Dorsey,  J.  O. 

1897.  I.  Siouan  Sociology  (Fifteenth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1897). 

Dorsey,  J.  O.  and  Swanton,  John  R. 

1912.  I.  A Dictionary  of  the  Biloxi  and  Ofo  Languages  Accom- 
panied with  Thirty-one  Biloxi  Texts  and  Numerous  Biloxi 
Phrases  (Bulletin  47,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Wash- 
ington, 1912). 

Duckworth,  W.  L.  H. 

1904.  I.  Morphology  and  Anthropology.  A Handbook  for  Stu- 
dents. Cambridge,  1904. 

Duckworth,  W.  L.  H.  and  Pain,  B.  H. 

1900.  I.  An  Account  of  some  Eskimo  from  Labrador  (Proceedings, 
Cambridge  Philosophical  Society,  vol.  10,  pp.  286-291,  Cambridge, 
1900). 

Du  Pratz,  le  Page,  Antoine  S. 

1758.  I.  Historic  de  la  Louisane.  Tomes  1-3.  Paris,  1758. 

Durkheim,  £mile. 

1912.  I.  Les  Formes  elementaires  de  la  Vie  religieuse.  Le  systeme 
totemique  en  Australie.  Paris,  1912.  English  translation  by  Jo- 
seph Ward  Swain. 

Ehrenreich,  Paul. 

1897.  I-  Anthropologische  Studien  iiber  die  Urbewohner  Brasiliens 
vornehmlich  der  Staaten  Matto  Grosso,  Goyaz  und  Amazonas 
(Purus  Gebiet).  Nach  eigenen  Aufnahmen  und  Beobachtungen 
in  den  Jahren  1877  bis  1889.  Braunschweig,  1897). 

1903.  I.  Zur  Frage  der  Beurtheilung  und  Berwerthung  ethnograph- 
ischer  Analogien  (Correspondenz-Blatt  der  deutschen  Gesell- 
schaft  fur  Anthropologie,  Ethnologie  und  Urgeschichte,  vol.  34, 
pp.  176-180,  Miinchen,  1903). 

1905.  I.  Die  Mythen  und  Legenden  der  siidamerikanischen  Urvol- 
ker  und  ihre  Beziehungen  zu  denen  Nordamerikas  und  der  alten 
Welt.  Berlin,  1905. 

Emmons,  G.  T. 

1903.  I.  The  Basketry  of  the  Tlingit  (Memoirs,  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  vol.  3,  part  2,  New  York,  1903). 

1907.  I.  The  Chilkat  Blanket  (Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History,  vol.  3,  part  4,  New  York,  1907). 

1916.  I.  The  Whale  House  of  the  Chilkat  (Anthropological  Papers, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  19,  part  1,  New  York, 
1916). 

Ferris,  H.  B. 

1916.  I.  The  Indians  of  Cuzco  and  the  Apurimac  (Memoirs,  Ameri- 
can Anthropological  Association,  vol.  3,  no.  2,  Lancaster,  1916). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


429 


Fewkes,  J.  W. 

1898.  I.  Archeological  Expedition  to  Arizona  in  1895  (Seventeenth 
Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington, 
1898). 

1902.  I.  Prehistoric  Porto  Rico  (Proceedings,  American  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  vol.  51,  pp.  487-512,  1902). 

1907.  I.  Aborigines  of  Porto  Rico  and  Neighboring  Islands 
(Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
Washington,  1907). 

1914.  I.  Archaeology  of  the  Lower  Mimbres  Valley,  N.  M. 
(Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Collections,  vol.  63,  no.  10,  Wash- 
ington, 1914). 

Fletcher,  Alice  C. 

1904.  I.  The  Hako,  a Pawnee  Ceremony  (Twenty-second  Annual 
Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  part  2,  Washington, 

1904). 

Fletcher,  Alice  C.  and  La  Flesche,  Francis. 

1911.  I.  The  Omaha  Tribe  (Twenty-seventh  Annual  Report,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1911). 

Frazer,  J.  G. 

1910.  I.  Totemism  and  Exogamy.  A Treatise  on  Certain  Forms  of 
Superstition  and  Society.  4 vols.  London,  1910. 

Frezier,  Amedee  Franqois. 

1717.  I.  A Voyage  to  the  South-Sea,  and  along  the  Coasts  of  Chili 
and  Peru,  in  the  Years  1712-1714.  London,  1717. 

Friederici,  Georg. 

1907.  I.  Die  Schiffahrt  der  Indianer  (Studien  und  Forschungen  zur 
Menschen-  und  Volkerkunde.  Stuttgart,  1907). 

1907.  II.  Scalping  in  America  (Smithsonian  Report  for  1906,  pp. 
423-438,  Washington,  1907). 

Gallatin,  Albert. 

1836.  I.  A synopsis  of  the  Indians  within  the  United  States  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  in  the  British  and  Russian  possessions 
in  North  America  (Transactions  and  Collections,  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  vol.  2,  pp.  1-422,  Cambridge,  1836). 

Giddings,  Franklin  H. 

1909.  I.  The  Principles  of  Sociology.  1909. 

Gifford,  Edward  Winslow. 

1916.  I.  Miwok  Moieties  (University  of  California  Publications  in 
American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  12,  no.  4,  Berkeley, 
IQl6)* 

Gillen,  F.  J.  See  Spencer,  Baldwin  and  Gillen*  F.  J. 

Gilman,  Benjamin  Ives. 

1908.  I.  Hopi  Songs.  Boston,  1908. 


/ 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


430 

Goddard,  P.  E. 

1905.  I.  Mechanical  Aids  to  the  Study  and  Recording  of  Languages 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  7,  pp.  613-619,  Lancaster, 

1905). 

1913.  I.  Indians  of  the  Southwest  (Handbook  Series,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  no.  2,  New  York,  1913). 

1914.  I.  The  present  Condition  of  our  Knowledge  of  North  Ameri- 
can Languages  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  16,  pp. 
555^6oi,  Lancaster,  1914). 

See  also  Boas,  1916,  II. 

Goldenweiser,  A.  A. 

1910.  I.  Totemism,  an  Analytical  Study  (Journal  of  American 
Folk-Lore,  vol.  23,  pp.  179-292,  Lancaster,  1910). 

1913.  I.  The  Principle  of  Limited  Possibilities  in  the  Development 
of  Culture  (Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  26,  pp.  259-290, 
Lancaster,  1913). 

1914.  I.  The  Social  Organization  of  the  Indians  of  North  America 
(Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  27,  pp.  411-436,  Lancaster, 

1914). 

1916.  I.  Diffusion  vs.  Independent  Origin:  a Rejoinder  to  Pro- 
fessor G.  Elliot  Smith  (Science,  N.  S.  vol.  44,  no.  1137,  pp.  531- 
533,  October  13,  1916). 

Gordon,  G.  B. 

1913.  I.  The  Book  of  Chilan  Balam  of  Chumayel,  with  Introduction 
by  G.  B.  Gordon  (Anthropological  Publications,  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  vol.  5,  Philadelphia,  1913). 

Graebner,  F. 

1911.  I.  Methode  der  Ethnologie.  Mit  einem  Vorwort  des  Heraus- 
gebers.  Heidelberg,  1911. 

Grant,  Madison. 

1902.  I.  The  Caribou  (Seventh  Annual  Report,  New  York  Zoo- 
logical Society,  New  York,  1902). 

Grin nell,  George  Bird. 

1893.  I.  Pawnee  Hero  Stories.  New  York,  1893. 

Guernsey,  S.  J.  See  Kidder,  A.  V.,  and  Guernsey,  S.  J. 

Haddon,  A.  C. 

No  date.  Races  of  Man  and  their  Distribution.  London,  no  date. 
1902.  I.  Evolution  in  Art:  As  illustrated  by  the  Life-Histories  of 
Designs.  London  and  New  York,  1902. 

1910.  I.  History  of  Anthropology.  London,  1910. 

1911.  I.  The  Wanderings  of  Peoples.  Cambridge,  1911. 
Harrington,  M.  R. 

1909.  I.  The  Rock-Shelters  of  Armonk,  New  York  (Anthropologi- 
cal Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  3,  New 
York,  1909). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


43i 


Harrington,  M.  R. 

1921.  I.  Cuba  Before  Columbus.  Part  1,  2 vols.  (Indian  Notes  and 
Monographs,  Museum  of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Foundation, 
New  York,  1921). 

Harshberger,  J.  W. 

1893.  I.  Maize:  a Botanical  and  Economic  Study  (Contributions, 
Botanical  Laboratory,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  1,  no.  2, 
Philadelphia,  1893). 

Hartman,  C.  V. 

1901.  I.  Archaeological  Researches  in  Costa  Rica  (The  Royal  Eth- 
nographical Museum  in  Stockholm,  Stockholm,  1901). 

Hatt,  Gudmund. 

1914.  I.  Arktiske  Skinddragter  i Eurasien  og  Amerika.  En  Eth- 
nografisk  Studie.  Copenhagen,  1914. 

1916.  I.  Moccasins  and  their  Relation  to  Arctic  Footwear  (Mem- 
oirs, American  Anthropological  Association,  vol  3,  no.  3,  1916). 

Hawkes,  E.  W. 

1916.  I.  The  Labrador  Eskimo  (Memoir  91,  Geological  Survey  of 
Canada,  Anthropological  Series,  no.  14,  Ottawa,  1916). 

Hawley,  E.  H. 

1898.  I.  Distribution  of  the  Notched  Rattle  (American  Anthropol- 
ogist, vol.  11,  pp.  344-346,  Washington,  1898). 

Hearne,  Samuel  A. 

1795-  I-  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  in  Hudson’s  Bay  to 
the  Northern  Ocean.  London,  1795. 

Hellman,  Milo. 

1919.  I.  Dimensions  versus  Form  in  Teeth  and  their  Bearing  on 
the  Morphology  of  the  Dental  Arch  (International  Journal  of 
Orthodontia  and  Oral  Surgery,  vol.  5,  no.  11,  pp.  3-39,  Novem- 
ber, 1919). 

Hickey,  Rev.  M. 

1883.  I.  A Missionary  among  the  Indians  (Reminiscences  of  Rev. 
M.  Hickey  as  a minister  and  missionary  of  the  Michigan  Annual 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Michigan 
Pioneer  Collections,  vol.  4,  pp.  544-556,  Lansing,  1883). 

Hitchcock,  E. 

1888.  I.  Statistics  Bearing  upon  the  Average  and  Typical  Student 
in  Amherst  College,  March,  1888  (Journal  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  vol.  17,  pp.  357- 
358,  London,  1888). 

Hoffman,  Walter  James. 

1891.  I Midewiwin  or  “Grand  Medicine  Society”  of  the  Ojibwa 
(Seventh  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Wash- 
ington, 1891). 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


43  2 

Koffman,  Walter  James. 

1897.  I-  The  Menomini  Indians  (Fourteenth  Annual  Report,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  part  1,  Washington,  1897). 

Holmes,  William  H. 

1886.  I.  Origin  and  Development  of  Form  and  Ornament  in  Ceramic 
Art  (Fourth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
Washington,  1886). 

1886.  II.  Ancient  Pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  (Fourth  An- 
nual Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1886). 

1888.  I.  A study  of  Textile  Art  in  its  Relation  to  the  Development 
of  Form  and  Ornament  (Sixth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Amer- 
ican Ethnology,  Washington,  1888). 

1888.  II.  Ancient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,  Colombia  (Sixth 
Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington, 
1888). 

1895-1897.  I.  Archaeological  Studies  among  the  Ancient  Cities  in 
Mexico  (Publications,  Field  Columbian  Museum,  vol.  3,  Chicago, 
1895-1897). 

1897.  I.  Stone  Implements  of  the  Potomac-Chesapeake  Tidewater 
Province  (Fifteenth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Eth- 
nology, Washington,  1897). 

1901.  I.  Aboriginal  Copper  Mines  of  Isle  Royale,  Lake  Superior 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  3,  pp.  684-696,  Lancaster, 
1901). 

1903.  I Aboriginal  Pottery  of  the  Eastern  United  Staftes  (Twen- 
tieth Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washing- 
ton, 1903). 

1914.  I.  Areas  of  American  Culture  Characterization  Tentatively 
Outlined  as  an  Aid  in  the  Study  of  Antiquities  (American  An- 
thropologist, N.  S.  vol.  16,  pp.  413-446,  Lancaster,  1914). 

1919.  I.  Handbook  of  Aboriginal  American  Antiquities.  Part  I. 
Introductory.  The  Lithic  Industries  (Bulletin  60,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1919). 

Hornbostel,  Erich  von. 

1911.  I.  Uber  ein  akustisches  Kriterium  fur  Kulturzusammenhange 
(Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologie,  vol.  43,  pp.  601-615,  1911). 

Hough,  Walter. 

1890.  I.  Fire-making  Apparatus  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (Re- 
port, United  States  National  Museum  for  1 888,  Washington, 
1890). 

1893.  I.  Primitive  American  Armor  (Report,  United  States  Na- 
tional Museum,  Washington,  1893). 

1907,  I.  Antiquities  of  the  Upper  Gila  and  Salt  River  Valleys  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico  (Bulletin  35,  Bureau  of  Americas 
Ethnology,  Washington,  1907). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


433 


Hough,  Walter. 

1915.  I.  The  Hopi  Indians.  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  1915. 

Hrdlicka,  A. 

1906.  I.  Contribution  to  the  Physical  Anthropology  of  California 
(University  of  California  Publications  in  American  Archaeology 
and  Ethnology,  vol.  4,  no.  2,  Berkeley,  1906). 

1907.  I.  Skeletal  Remains  suggesting  or  attributed  to  Early  Man 
in  North  America  (Bulletin  33,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
Washington,  1907). 

1912.  I.  Early  Man  in  South  America  (Bulletin  52,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1912). 

1915.  I.  The  Peopling  of  America  (The  Journal  of  Heredity,  vol.  6, 
pp.  79~9l,  Washington,  February,  1915). 

1916.  I.  Physical  Anthropology  of  the  Lenape  or  Delawares,  and 
of  the  Eastern  Indians  in  General  (Bulletin  62,  Bureau  of  Am- 
erican Ethnology,  Washington,  1916). 

1920.  I.  Shovel-Shaped  Teeth  (American  Journal  of  Physical 
Anthropology,  vol.  3,  no.  4,  pp.  429-465.  Washington,  1920). 

Hunter,  John  D. 

1823.  I.  Memoirs  of  a Captivity  among  the  Indians  of  North  Amer- 
ica. London,  1823. 

Hyde,  George  E.  See  Will,  George  F.,  and  Hyde,  George  E. 

Im  Thurn,  Everard  F. 

1883.  I.  Among  the  Indians  of  Guiana.  London,  1883. 

James,  George  Wharton. 

1914.  I.  Indian  Blankets  and  their  Makers.  Chicago,  1914. 

Jenks,  A.  E. 

1900.  I.  The  Wild  Rice  Gatherers  of  the  Upper  Lakes  (Nineteenth 
Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  part  2,  Wash- 
ington, 1900). 

1916.  I.  Indian-White  Amalgamation,  an  Anthropometric  Study 
(Studies  in  the  Social  Sciences,  University  of  Minnesota,  no.  6, 
Minneapolis,  1916). 

JOCHELSON,  WALDEMAR. 

1907.  I.  Past  and  Present  Subterranean  Dwellings  of  the  Tribes  of 
North  Eastern  Asia  and  North  Western  America  (Congres  In- 
ternational des  Americanistes,  XVe  Session,  Quebec,  1907). 

1908.  I.  Material  Culture  and  Social  Organization  of  the  Koryak 
(Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  10,  part 
2,  Leiden  and  New  York,  1908). 

Jones,  Charles  C. 

1873.  I Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  particularly  of  the 
Georgia  Tribes.  New  York,  1873. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


434 

Jones,  William. 

1905.  I.  The  Algonkin  Manitou  (Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 
vol.  18,  pp.  183-190,  Lancaster,  1905). 

1906.  I.  Central  Algonkin  (Annual  Archaeological  Report,  1905,  Ap- 
pendix, Report,  Minister  of  Education,  Ontario,  Toronto,  1906). 

Joyce,  T.  A. 

1912.  I.  South  American  Archaeology.  New  York,  1912. 

1914.  I.  Mexican  Archaeology.  An  Introduction  to  the  Archaeology 
of  the  Mexican  and  Maya  Civilizations  of  pre-Spanish  America. 
New  York  and  London,  1914. 

1916.  I.  Central  American  and  West  Indies  Archaeology.  Being  an 
Introduction  to  the  Archaeology  of  the  States  of  Nicaragua, 
Costa  Rica,  Panama  and  the  West  Indies.  New  York,  1916. 


Kalm,  Peter. 

1772.  I.  Travels  into  North  America.  2 vols.  London,  1772. 

Kane,  Paul. 

1859.  I.  Wanderings  of. an  Artist  among  the  Indians  of  North  Am- 
erica. London,  1859. 

Kean,  A.  H. 

1896.  I.  Ethnology.  Cambridge,  1896. 

Kidder,  A.  V. 

1915.  I.  Pottery  of  the  Pajarito  Plateau  and  of  some  Adjacent 
Regions  in  New  Mexico  (Memoirs,  American  Anthropological 
Association,  vol.  2,  part  6,  Lancaster,  1915). 

Kidder,  A.  V.,  and  Guernsey,  S.  J. 

1919.  I.  Archaeological  Explorations  in  Northeastern  Arizona  (Bul- 
letin 65,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1919). 

Kidder,  M.  A.  and  A.  V. 

1917.  I.  Notes  on  the  Pottery  of  Pecos  (American  Anthropologist, 
N.  S.  vol.  19,  pp.  325-360,  Lancaster,  1917). 

Kissell,  Mary  Lois. 

1916.  I.  Basketry  of  the  Pima  and  Papago  Indians  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  17,  part  4, 
New  York,  1916). 

1916.  II.  A New  Type  of  Spinning  in  North  America  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  18,  pp.  264-270,  Lancaster,  1916). 

Koch-Grunberg,  Theodor. 

1908.  I.  Zwei  Jahre  unter  den  Indianern — Reisen  in  Nordwest-Bra- 
silien,  1903-1905.  Band  1-2.  Berlin,  1908. 

Krause,  A. 

1885.  I.  Die  Tlinkit  Indianer,  Ergebnisse  einer  Reise  nach  der 
Nordwestkuste  von  America  und  der  Beringstrasse  (Auftrage 
der  Bremer  geographischen  Gessellschaft,  1880-1881.  Jena,  1885). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


435 


Kroeber,  A.  L. 

1900.  I.  Symbolism  of  the  Arapaho  Indians  (Bulletin,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  vol.  13,  article  7,  New  York,  1900). 

1902.  I.  The  Arapaho  (Bulletin,  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, vol.  18,  part  1,  New  York,  1902). 

1904.  I.  Types  of  Indian  Culture  in  California  (University  of  Cali- 
fornia Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol. 
2,  no.  3,  Berkeley,  1904) . 

1905.  I.  Basket  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northwestern  California 
(University  of  California  Publications  in  American  Archaeology 
and  Ethnology,  vol.  2,  no.  4,  Berkeley,  1905). 

1908.  I.  Ethnography  of  the  Cahuilla  Indians  (University  of  Cali- 
fornia Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol. 
8,  no.  2,  Berkeley,  1908). 

1908.  II.  Ethnology  of  the  Gros  Ventre  (Anthropological  Papers, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  1,  part  4,  New  York, 
1908). 

1909.  I.  The  Archaeology  of  California  (Putnam  Anniversary  Vol- 
ume, New  York,  1909). 

1911.  I.  Phonetic  Constituents  of  the  Native  Languages  of  Cali- 
fornia (University  of  California  Publications  in  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  10,  no.  1,  Berkeley,  1911). 

1917.  I.  Zuni  Kin  and  Clan  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  vol.  18,  part  2,  New  York,  1917). 

See  also  Dixon  and  Kroeber,  1903.  I and  1913.  I ; Boas,  1916.  II. 

1920,  I.  California  Culture  Provinces  (University  of  California 
Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  17, 
no.  2,  Berkeley,  1920). 

La  Flesche,  Francis.  See  Fletcher,  Alice  C.  and  La  Flesche,  Francis. 

Laufer,  Berthold. 

1907.  I.  The  Introduction  of  Maize  into  Eastern  Asia  (Congres  In- 
ternational des  Americanistes  XVe  Session,  part  1,  Quebec,  1907). 

1912.  I.  Jade.  A Study  in  Chinese  Archaeology  and  Religion  (Pub- 
lications, Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Anthropological 
Series,  vol.  10,  Chicago,  1912). 

1913.  I.  Plate  Armor  in  America,  a Sinological  Contribution  to  an 
American  Problem  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp. 
96-97,  Lancaster,  1913). 

1914.  I.  Some  Fundamental  Ideas  of  Chinese  Culture  (The  Journal 
of  Race  Development,  vol.  5,  no.  2,  October,  1914). 

1914.  II.  Chinese  Clay  Figures.  Part  1.  Prolegomena  on  the  His- 
tory of  Defensive  Armor  (Publications,  Field  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History,  Anthropological  Series,  vol.  13,  no.  2,  Chicago, 

1914). 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


436 

Lawson,  John. 

i860.  I.  History  of  Carolina,  containing  the  Exact  Description  and 
Natural  History  of  that  Country.  London,  1714.  Reprint,  Ral- 
eigh, i860. 

Lewis,  Alfred  Buell. 

1906.  I.  Tribes  of  the  Columbia  Valley  and  the  Coast  of  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon  (Memoirs,  American  Anthropological  Asso- 
ciation, vol.  1,  part  2,  Lancaster,  1906). 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  and  Clark,  William. 

1905.  I.  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition 
(Thwaites  Edition).  New  York,  1905. 

Lewis,  Theodore  H.  (Editor). 

1907.  I.  The  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  Hernando  de  Soto  by 
the  Gentleman  of  Elvas.  New  York,  1907. 

Locke,  L.  Leland. 

1912.  The  Ancient  Quipu,  a Peruvian  Knot  Record  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  14,  pp.  325 “332,  Lancaster,  1912). 

Lowie,  Robert  H. 

1908.  I.  The  Test-Theme  in  North  American  Mythology  (Journal 
of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  21,  pp.  97-148,  Lancaster,  1908). 

1909.  I.  The  Northern  Shoshone  (Anthropological  Papers,  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  2,  part  2,  New  York,  1909). 

1912.  I.  On  the  Principle  of  Convergence  in  Ethnology  (Journal  of 
American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  25,  pp.  24-42,  Lancaster,  1912). 

1914.  I.  Social  Organization  (The  American  Journal  of  Sociology, 
vol.  20,  no.  1,  pp.  68-97,  Chicago,  1914). 

1915.  I.  Exogamy  and  the  Classificatory  Systems  of  Relationship 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  17,  pp.  223-239,  Lancaster, 

1915). 

1916.  I.  Historical  and  Sociological  Interpretations  of  Kinship  Ter- 
minologies (Holmes  Anniversary  Volume,  pp.  293-300,  Wash- 
ington, 1916). 

1916.  II.  Plains  Indian  Age-Societies:  Historical  and  Compara- 

tive Summary  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  vol.  11,  part  13,  New  York,  1916). 

1917.  I.  Culture  and  Ethnology.  New  York,  1917. 

1920.  I.  Primitive  Society.  New  York,  1920. 

Lum holtz,  Carl. 

1900.  I.  Symbolism  of  the  Huichol  Indians  (Memoirs,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  3,  part  1,  New  York,  1900). 

1904.  I.  Decorative  Art  of  the  Huichol  Indians  (Memoirs,  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  3,  part  3,  New  York,  1904). 

MacCauley,  Clay. 

1887.  I.  The  Seminole  Indians  of  Florida  (Fifth  Annual  Report, 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1887). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


437 


MacCurdy,  George  Grant. 

1911.  I.  A Study  of  Chiriquian  Antiquities  (Memoirs,  Connecticut 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  vol.  3,  New  Haven,  1911). 

Mackenzie,  Alexander. 

19012.  I.  Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North 
America  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific  Oceans  in  1789  and  1793. 
2 vols.  New  York,  1902. 

Mackenzie,  A.  S. 

1911.  I.  The  Evolution  of  Literature.  New  York,  1911. 

Mallery,  Garrick. 

1886.  I Pictographs  of  the  North  American  Indians.  A Prelimi- 
nary Paper  (Fourth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Eth- 
nology, Washington,  1886). 

Markham,  Sir  Clements  R. 

1910.  I.  The  Incas  of  Peru.  New  York,  1910. 

Marett,  R.  R. 

1911.  I.  Anthropology.  London,  1911. 

Martin,  Rudolph. 

1914.  I.  Lehrbuch  der  Anthropologie ; in  Systematischer  Darstel- 
lung  mit  besonderer  Beriichsichtigung  der  Anthropologischen 
Methoden.  Jena,  1914. 

Mason,  Otis  T. 

1894.  I-  North  American  Bows,  Arrows  and  Quivers  (Smithsonian 
Report  for  1893,  United  States  National  Museum,  Washington, 
1894). 

1895.  I.  Origins  of  Invention.  London  and  New  York,  1895. 

1896.  I.  Primitive  Travel  and  Transportation  (Report,  United 
States  National  Museum  for  1894,  Washington,  1896). 

1901.  I.  Pointed  Bark  Canoes  of  the  Kutenai  and  Amur  (Report, 
United  States  National  Museum  for  1899,  Washington,  1901). 

1904.  I.  Aboriginal  American  Basketry  (Report,  United  States  Na- 
tional Museum  for  1902,  Washington,  1904). 

1907.  I.  Domestication  (Handbook  of  American  Indians,  Bulletin 
30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  pp.  397-399,  Washington, 

1907). 

Matthew,  W.  D. 

1915.  I.  Climate  and  Evolution  (Annals,  New  York  Academy  of 
Sciences,  vol.  24,  pp.  171-238,  New  York,  1915). 

Matthews,  Washington. 

1902.  I.  Night  Chant,  a Navajo  Ceremony  (Memoirs,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  6,  New  York,  1902). 

1907.  I.  Navajo  Myths,  Prayers  and  Songs  with  Texts  and  Trans- 
lations (University  of  California  Publications  in  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  5,  no.  2,  Berkeley,  1907). 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


438 

Matthewson,  C.  H. 

1915.  I.  A Metallographic  Description  of  Some  Ancient  Peruvian 
Bronzes  from  Machu  Picchu  (The  American  Journal  of  Science, 
vol.  40,  December,  1915). 

Maudslay,  A.  P. 

1889-1902.  I.  Biologia  Centrali-Americana ; or  Contributions  to  the 
Knowledge  of  the  Fauna  and  Flora  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  Archaeology,  vols.  1-4.  London,  1889-1902. 

Maximilian,  Prince  of  Wied. 

1820.  I.  Travels  in  Brazil  in  the  years  1815,  1816,  1817.  London, 
1820. 

1843.  I.  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  North  America.  Translated  by 
H.  Evans  Lloyd.  London,  1843. 

McClintock,  Walter. 

1910.  I.  The  Old  North  Trail,  or  Life,  Legends  and  Religion  of 
the  Blackfoot  Indians.  London,  1910. 

McGuire,  Joseph  D. 

1899.  I.  Pipes  and  Smoking  Customs  of  the  American  Aborigines 
(Report,  United  States  National  Museum  for  1897,  Washington, 
1899). 

Mead,  Charles  W. 

1903.  I.  The  Musical  Instruments  of  the  Incas  (Guide  Leaflet, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  no.  11,  New  York, 

1903). 

1906.  I.  The  Six-Unit  Design  in  Ancient  Peruvian  Cloth  (Boas 
Anniversary  Volume,  New  York,  1906). 

1907.  I.  Technique  of  some  South  American  Feather-work  (Anthro- 
pological Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  1, 
part  1,  New  York,  1907). 

1915.  I.  Prehistoric.  Bronze  in  South  America  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  12,  part  2, 
New  York,  1915). 

1916.  I.  Conventionalized  Figures  in  Ancient  Peruvian  Art  (Anthro- 
pological' Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol. 
12,  part  S,  New  York,  1916). 

Means,  Philip*  Ainsworth. 

1916.  I.  Some  Objections  to  Mr.  Elliot  Smith's  Theory  (Science,  N. 
S.  vol.  44,  PP-  533-534,  October  13,  1916). 

1917.  I,  An  Outline  of  the  Culture-Sequence  in  the  Andean  Area 
(Proceedings,  Nineteenth  International  Congress  of  American- 
ists, 1915,  pp.  236-252,  Washington,  1917). 

Merriam,  C.  Hart. 

1905.  I.  The  Indian  Population  of  California  (American  Anthropol- 
ogist, N.  S.  vol.  7,  pp.  596-606,  Lancaster,  1905). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


439 


Merriam,  J.  C. 

1914.  I.  Preliminary  Report  on  the  Discovery  of  Human  Remains 
in  an  Asphalt  Deposit  at  Rancho  La  Brea  (Science,  N.  S.  vol. 
40,  pp.  198-203,  August,  1914). 

Meyer,  H.  A.  H. 

1898.  I.  Bows  and  Arrows  in  Central  Brazil  (Annual  Report  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  1896,  Washington,  1898). 

Michelson,  Truman. 

1912.  I.  Preliminary  Report  on  the  Linguistic  Classification  of  Al- 
gonquian  Tribes  (Twenty-eighth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Am- 
erican Ethnology,  Washington,  1912). 

Mooney,  James. 

1896.  I.  The  Ghost-Dance  Religion  and  the  Sioux  Outbreak  of 
1890  (Fourteenth  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnol- 
ogy, part  2,  Washington,  1896). 

1898.  I.  Calendar  History  of  the  Kiowa  Indians  (Seventeenth  An- 
nual Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  part  1,  Washing- 
ton, 1898). 

1900.  I.  Myths  of  the  Cherokee  (Nineteenth  Annual  Report,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1900). 

1907.  I.  The  Cheyenne  Indians  (Memoirs,  American  Anthropo- 
logical Association,  vol.  1,  part  6,  Lancaster,  1907). 

Moore,  Clarence  B. 

1911.  I.  Some  Aboriginal  Sites  on  Mississippi  River  (Journal, 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  vol.  14,  Philadel- 
phia, 1911). 

1916.  I.  Some  Aboriginal  Sites  on  Greene  River,  Kentucky,  etc. 
(Journal,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  vol.  16, 
Philadelphia,  1916). 

Moorehead,  Warren  K. 

1910.  I.  The  Stone  Age  in  North  America.  2 vols.  Boston  and 
New  York,  1910. 

1913.  I.  The  Red-Paint  People  of  Maine  (American  Anthropolo- 
gist, N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp.  33-47,  Lancaster,  1913). 

1916.  I.  The  Problem  of  the  Red-Paint  People  (Holmes  Anniver- 
sary Volume,  Washington,  1946). 

1917-  I.  Stone  Ornaments  used  by  Indians  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  Andover,  1917. 

Morgan,  Lewis  H. 

1870.  I.  Systems  of  Consanguinity  and  Affinity  of  the  Human  Fam- 
ily (Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  vol.  17,  article  2, 
Washington,  1870). 

1878.  I.  Ancient  Society  or  Researches  in  the  Lines  of  Human 
Progress  from  Savagery  through  Barbarism  to  Civilization. 
New  York,  1878. 


440 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Morgan,  Lewis  H. 

1881.  I.  Houses  and  House-Life  of  the  American  Aborigines  (Con- 
tributions to  North  American  Ethnology,  vol.  4,  Washington, 
1881). 

1904.  I.  League  of  the  Ho-de-no-sau-nee  or  Iroquois.  Edited  by 
Herbert  M.  Lloyd.  New  York,  1904. 

Morice,  A.  G. 

1890.  I.  The  Western  Denes  (Proceedings,  Canadian  Institute,  third 
series,  vol.  7,  Toronto,  1890). 

1895.  I.  Notes  on  the  Western  Denes  (Transactions,  Canadian  In- 
stitute, vol.  4,  Toronto,  1895). 

1906.  I.  The  Canadian  Denes  (Annual  Archaeological  Report,  1905,  I 
Appendix,  Report,  Minister  of  Education,  Toronto,  1906). 

Morley,  Sylvanus  Griswold. 

1915.  I.  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Maya  Hieroglyphs 
(Bulletin  57,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1915). 

1920.  I.  The  Inscriptions  at  Copan  (Carnegie  Institution  of  Wash- 
ington, Publication  No.  219.  Washington,  1920). 

Murie,  James  R. 

1914.  I.  Pawnee  Indian  Societies  (Anthropological  Papers,  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  11,  part  7,  New  York, 

1914). 

Nelson,  E.  W. 

1899.  I.  The  Eskimo  about  Bering  Strait  (Eighteenth  Annual  Re- 
port, Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  part  1,  Washington,  1899). 

Nelson,  N.  C. 

1909.  I.  Shellmounds  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay  Region  (University 
of  California  Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Eth- 
nology, vol.  7,  no.  4,  Berkeley,  1909). 

1910.  I.  The  Ellis  Landing  Shellmound  (University  of  California 
Publications  in  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  7, 
no.  5,  Berkeley,  1910). 

.1916.  I.  Chronology  of  the  Tano  Ruins,  New  Mexico  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  18,  pp.  159-180,  Lancaster,  1916). 

1917.  I.  Contributions  to  the  Archaeology  of  Mammoth  Cave  and 
Vicinity,  Kentucky  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum* 
of  Natural  History,  vol.  22,  part  1,  New  York,  1917). 

1918.  I.  Chronology  in  Florida.  (Anthropological  Papers,  Ameri-  1 
can  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  22,  part  2,  New  York, 
1918). 

Nordenskiold,  Erland. 

1918.  I.  Eine  Geographische  und  Ethnographische  Analyse  der  Ma- 
teriellen  Kultur  Zweier  Indianerstamme  in  el  Gran  Chaco  (Siid- 
amerika)  (Vergleichende  Ethnographische  Forschungen,  I, 
Goteberg,  1918). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


441 


Nordenskiold,  Erland. 

1920.  I.  The  Changes  in  the  Material  Culture  of  Two  Indian  Tribes 
under  the  Influence  of  New  Surroundings  (Comparative  Ethno- 
graphical Studies,  2,  Goteborg,  1920). 

Osborn,  Henry  Fairfield. 

1910.  I.  The  Age  of  Mammals  in  Europe,  Asia  and  North  America. 
New  York,  1910. 

1915.  I.  Men  of  the  Old  Stone  Age.  Their  Environment,  Life  and 
Art.  New  York,  1915. 

Pain,  B.  H.  See  Duckworth,  W.  H.  L.  and  Pain,  B.  H. 

Parker,  Arthur  C. 

1910.  I.  Iroquois  Uses  of  Maize  and  other  Food  Plants  (Bulletin 
144,  New  York  State  Museum,  Albany,  1910). 

1916.  I.  The  Constitution  of  the  Five  Nationa  (Bulletin  184,  New 
York  State  Museum,  Albany,  1916). 

1916.  II.  The  Origin  of  the  Iroquois  as  suggested  by  their  Archae- 
ology (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  18,  pp.  479-507, 
Lancaster,  1916). 

See  also  Wissler,  1915.  II. 

Pike,  Warburton. 

1892.  I.  The  Barren  Ground  of  Northern  Canada.  New  York, 
1892. 

Posnansky,  Arthur. 

1916.  I.  Mongoloid  Signs  in  Some  Ethnic  Types  of  the  Andine 
Plateau  (Science,  N.  S.  vol.  43,  pp.  904-905,  June  23,  1916). 

Powell,  J.  W. 

1891.  I Indian  Linguistic  Families  of  America  North  of  Mexico 
(Seventh  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington, 
1891). 

Radin,  Paul. 

1911.  I.  Some  Aspects  of  Winnebago  Archeology  (American  An- 
thropologist, N.  S.  vol.  13,  pp.  517-538,  Lancaster,  1911). 

1914.  I.  Religion  of  the  North  American  Indians  (Journal  of  Am- 
erican Folk-Lore,  vol.  27,  pp.  335 -373,  Lancaster,  1914). 

1914.  II.  A Sketch  of  the  Peyote  Cult  of  the  Winnebago : a Study 
in  Borrowing  (Journal  of  Religious  Psychology,  vol.  3,  pp.  1-22, 

1914). 

1915.  I.  Literary  Aspects  of  North  American  Mythology  (Bulletin 
16,  Anthropological  Series,  no.  6,  Geological  Survey,  Canada, 
Ottawa,  1915"). 

Ratzel,  Friedrich. 

1896-1898.  I.  The  History  of  Mankind.  London  and  New  York, 
1896-1898. 


442 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Rau,  Charles. 

1873.  I.  North  American  Stone  Implements  (Smithsonian  Report 
for  1872,  Washington,  1873). 

1884.  I.  Prehistoric  Fishing  in  Europe  and  North  America  (Smith- 
sonian Contributions  to  Knowledge,  vol.  25,  Washington,  1884). 

Ripley,  William  Z. 

1899.  I.  The  Races  of  Europe.  A Sociological  Study.  Accom- 
panied by  a Supplementary  Bibliography.  New  York,  1899. 

Rivers,  W.  H.  R. 

1914.  I.  Kinship  and  Social  Organization.  London,  1914. 

Robertson,  A.  W.  D.  See  Berry,  Richard  A.  J. 

Roth,  W.  E. 

1910.  I.  Some  Technological  Notes  from  the  Pomeroon  District, 
British  Guiana,  part  2 (Journal,  Royal  Anthropological  Insti- 
tute, vol.  40,  1910). 

Russell,  Frank. 

1908.  I.  The  Pima  Indians  (Twenty-sixth  Annual  Report,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1908). 


Sahagun,  Bernardino  de. 

1880.  I.  Histoire  Generate  des  Choses  de  la  Nouvelle-Espagne. 
Translated  by  D.  Jourdanet  and  Remi  Simeon.  Paris,  1880. 
Sanchez,  J. 

1877.  I.  Estudio  Acera  de  la  Estatua  Llamada  Chac-Mool  6 Rey 
Tigre  (Anales  del  Museo  Nacional,  vol.  1,  pp.  270-278,  Mexico, 

1877). 

Sapir,  Edward. 

1911.  I.  The  History  and  Varieties  of  Human  Speech  (Popular 
Science  Monthly,  July,  1911). 

1913.  I.  Wiyot  and  Yurok,  Algonkin  Languages  of  California  (Am- 
erican Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  15,  pp.  617-646,  Lancaster, 

1913). 

1915.  I.  The  Na-dene  Languages,  a Preliminary  Report  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  17,  pp.  534-558,  Lancaster,  I915). 

1916.  I.  Time  Perspective  in  Aboriginal  American  Culture,  a Study 
in  Method  (Memoir  90,  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  Ottawa, 
1916). 

See  also  Boas,  1916.  II. 

Saville,  Marshall  H. 

1907.  I.  The  Antiquities  of  Manabi,  Ecuador.  Preliminary  Re- 
port, vol.  1 (Contributions  to  South  American  Archeology.  The 
George  G.  Heye  Expedition,  New  York,  1907). 

1909.  I.  The  Cruciform  Structures  of  Mitla  and  Vicinity  (Putnam 
Anniversary  Volume,  New  York,  1909). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


443 


Saville,  Marshall  H. 

1910.  I.  The  Antiquities  of  Manabi,  Ecuador.  Final  Report.  (Con- 
tributions to  South  American  Archeology.  The  George  G.  Heye 
Expedition,  New  York,  1910). 

1920.  I.  The  Goldsmith’s  Art  in  Ancient  Mexico  (Indian  Notes  and 
Monographs,  Museum  of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Founda- 
tion, New  York,  1920). 

Shetrone,  H.  C. 

1918.  I.  The  Indian  in  Ohio  (Reprinted  from  Ohio  Archaeological 
and  Historical  Quarterly,  July,  1918.  Columbus,  1918). 

1920.  I.  The  Culture  Problem  in  Ohio  Archaeology  (American  An- 
thropologist, N.  S.  vol.  22,  pp.  144-172,  Lancaster,  1920). 

Schmidt,  Max. 

1905.  I.  Indianerstudien  in  Zentral-Brasilien.  Erlebnisse  und  Eth- 
nologische  Ergebnisse  einer  Reise  in  den  Jahren  1900  bis  1901. 
Berlin,  1905. 

Schrabisch,  Max. 

1909.  I.  Indian  Rock-shelters  in  Northern  New  Jersey  and  Southern 
New  York  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History,  vol.  3,  New  York,  1909). 

Schurtz,  Heinrich. 

1902.  I.  Altersklassen  und  Mannerbunde,  eine  Darstellung  der 
Grundformen  der  Gesellschaft.  Berlin,  1902. 

Seler,  Eduard. 

1904.  I.  Ancient  Mexican  Feather  Ornaments  (Bulletin  28,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1904). 

Skinner,  Alanson. 

1909.  I.  Archaeology  of  the  New  York  Coastal  Algonkin  (Anthro- 
pological Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  3, 
New  York,  1909). 

1913.  I.  Social  Life  and  Ceremonial  Bundles  of  the  Menomini  Indi- 
ans (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  vol.  13,  part  1,  New  York,  1913). 

1915.  I.  Associations  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Menomini  Indians 
(Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
vol.  13,  part  2,  New  York,  1915). 

Smith,  G.  Elliot. 

1915.  I.  Pre-Columbian  Representations  of  the  Elephant  in  Am- 
erica (Nature,  vol.  96,  pp.  340-341,  425,  November,  1915). 

1916.  I.  Pre-Columbian  Representations  of  the  Elephant  in  America 
(Nature,  vol.  96,  pp.  592-594,  January,  1916). 

Smith,  Harlan  I. 

1899.  I.  Archaeology  of  Lytton,  British  Columbia  (Memoirs,  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  2,  part  3,  New  York,  1899). 


444 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Smith,  Harlan  I. 

1900.  I.  Archaeology  of  the  Thompson  River  Region  (Memoirs, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  2,  part  6,  New  York, 
1900). 

1903.  I.  Shell-heaps  of  the  Lower  Fraser  River,  British  Columbia 
(Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  4,  part 
4,  New  York,  1903). 

1907.  I.  Archaeology  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  and  Puget  Sound 
(Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  4,  part 
6,  New  York,  1907). 

1910.  I.  An  Unknown  Field  in  American  Archaeology  (Bulletin, 
American  Geographical  Society,  vol.  42,  pp.  51 1-520,  1910). 

1910.  II.  The  Archaeology  of  the  Yakima  Valley  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  6,  part  1, 
New  York,  1910). 

1 91 1.  I.  Prehistoric  Ethnology  of  a Kentucky  Site  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  6,  part  2, 
New  York,  1911). 

Solberg,  O. 

1907.  I.  Beitrage  zur  Vorgeschichte  der  Ost-Eskimo  (Videnskabs- 
Selskabets  Skrifter,  II,  Hist.-Filos.  Klasse,  Christiana,  1907). 

Speck,  Frank  G. 

1907.  I.  Some  Comparative  Traits  of  the  Maskogian  Languages 
(American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  9,  pp.  470-483,  Lancaster, 

1907). 

1909.  I.  Ethnology  of  the  Yuchi  Indians  (Anthropological  Publica- 
tions, University  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  1,  no.  1,  Philadelphia,  1909). 

1914.  I.  The  Double-Curve  Motive  in  Northeastern  Algonkian  Art 
(Memoir  42,  Geological  Survey  of  Canada.  Ottawa,  1914). 

1920.  I.  Decorative  Art  and  Basketry  of  the  Cherokee  (Bulletin, 
Public  Museum  of  the  City  of  Milwaukee,  vol.  2,  no.  2,  Mil- 
waukee, 1920). 

Spencer,  Baldwin  and  Gillen,  F.  J. 

1899.  I.  The  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia.  London,  1899. 

Spier,  Leslie. 

1916.  I.  New  Data  on  the  Trenton  Argillite  Culture  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  18,  pp.  181-189,  Lancaster,  1916). 

1917.  I.  An  Outline  for  a Chronology  of  Zuni  Ruins  (Anthro- 
pological Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  18, 
part  3,  New  York,  1917). 

1918.  I.  The  Trenton  Argillite  Culture  (Anthropological  Papers, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  22,  part  4,  New 
York,  1918). 

1921.  I.  The  Sun  Dance  of  the  Plains  Indians : Its  Development 
and  Diffusion  (Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  vol.  16,  part  7,  New  York,  1921). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


445 


Spinden,  Herbert  J. 

1908.  I.  The  Nez  Perce  Indians  (Memoirs,  American  Anthropo- 
logical Association,  vol.  2,  part  3,  Lancaster,  1908). 

1913.  I.  A Study  of  Maya  Art.  Its  Subject  Matter  and  Historical 
Development  (Memoirs,  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archae- 
ology and  Ethnology,  vol.  6,  Cambridge,  1913). 

1915.  I.  Notes  on  the  Archaeology  of  Salvador  (American  Anthro- 
pologist, N.  S.  vol.  1 7,  pp.  446-487,  Lancaster,  1915). 

1917.  I.  Ancient  Civilizations  of  Mexico  and  Central  America 
(Handbook  Series,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New 
York,  1917). 

1917.  II.  The  Origin  and  Distribution  of  Agriculture  in  America 
(Proceedings,  Nineteenth  International  Congress  of  American- 
ists, 1915,  pp.  269-276,  Washington,  1917). 

Spinden,  Herbert  J.  and  Will,  George  F. 

1906.  I.  The  Mandans.  A Study  of  their  Culture,  Archaeology  and 
Language  (Papers,  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology 
and  Ethnology,  vol.  3,  no.  4,  Cambridge,  1906). 

Squier,  E.  G. 

1853.  I.  Travels  in  Central  America,  Particularly  in  Nicaragua. 
With  a Description  of  its  Aboriginal  Monuments,  Scenery  and 
People,  their  Languages,  Institutions,  Religion,  etc.  2 vols.  New 
York,  1853. 

1877.  I.  Peru.  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the  Land 
of  the  Incas.  New  York,  1877. 

Steensby,  H.  P. 

1917.  I.  An  Anthropogeographical  Study  of  the  Origin  of  the 
Eskimo  Culture  (Meddelelser  om  Gr^nland,  vol.  53,  Copenhagen, 

, 1917). 

Stefansson,  Vilhjalmur. 

1914.  I.  The  Stefansson-Anderson  Arctic  Expedition  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum:  Preliminary  Ethnological  Report  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  14,  part  1, 
New  York,  1914). 

1919.  I.  My  Life  with  the  Eskimo.  New  York,  1919. 

Steffen,  Max. 

1883.  I.  Die  Landwirtschaft  bei  den  altamerikanischen  Kultur- 
volker.  Leipzig,  1883. 

Steinbrueck,  E.  R.  See  Brower,  J.  V.,  1904.  I. 

Sterns,  Fred  H. 

1915.  I.  A Stratification  of  Cultures  in  Eastern  Nebraska  (Ameri- 
can Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  17,  pp.  121-127,  Lancaster,  1915). 

Stubel,  A.  See  Uhle,  Max,  and  Stiibel,  A. 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


446 

Sullivan,  Louis  R. 

1920.  I.  Differences  in  the  Pattern  of  the  Second  Lower  Molar 
Tooth  (American  Journal  of  Physical  Anthropology,  vol.  3, 
no.  2,  pp.  255-257,  Washington,  1920). 

1920.  II.  Anthropometry  of  the  Siouan  Tribes  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  23,  part 
3,  New  York,  1920). 

Swanton,  John  R. 

1905.  I.  The  Social  Organization  of  American  Tribes  (American 
Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  7,  pp.  663-673,  Lancaster,  1905). 

1906.  I.  A Reconstruction  of  the  Theory  of  Social  Organization 
(Boas  Anniversary  Volume,  pp.  166-178,  New  York,  1906). 

1911.  I.  Indian  Tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  and  Ad- 
jacent Coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  (Bulletin  43,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1911). 

1915.  I.  Linguistic  Position  of  the  Tribes  of  Southern  Texas  and 
Northeastern  Mexico  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  17, 
pp.  17-40,  Lancaster,  1915). 

See  also  Dorsey,  J.  O.,  and  Swanton,  John  R.,  1912.  I;  Thomas, 
Cyrus  and  Swanton,  John  R.,  1911.  I. 


Teit,  James. 

1898.  I.  Traditions  of  the  Thompson  River  Indians  of  British 
Columbia  (Memoirs,  American  Folk-lore  Society,  vol.  6,  1898). 

1900.  I.  The  Thompson  Indians  of  British  Columbia  (Memoirs, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  2,  part  4,  New 
York,  1900). 

1906.  I.  The  Lillooet  Indians  (Memoirs,  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  vol.  4,  part  5,  New  York,  1906). 

1909.  I.  The  Shuswap  (Memoirs,  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  vol.  4,  part  7,  Leiden  and  New  York,  1909). 

Thalbitzer,  William.  (Editor). 

1914.  I.  The  Ammassalik  Eskimo.  Part  1.  Contributions  to  the 
Ethnology  of  the  East  Greenland  Natives  (Meddelelser  om 
Gr^nland,  vol.  39,  Copenhagen  1914). 

Thomas,  Cyrus. 

1889.  I.  The  Problem  of  the  Ohio  Mounds  (Bulletin  8,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1889). 

Thomas,  Cyrus,  and  Swanton,  John  R. 

1911.  I.  Indian  Languages  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  and 
their  Geographical  Distribution  (Bulletin  44,  Bureau  of  Ameri- 
can Ethnology,  Washington,  1911). 

Thompson,  Edward  H. 

1911.  I.  The  Genesis  of  the  Maya  Arch  (American  Anthropologist, 
N.  S.  vol.  13,  pp.  501-516,  Lancaster,  1911). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


447 


Thomson,  Arthur. 

1899.  I.  On  the  Treatment  and  Utilization  of  Anthropological  Data. 
III.  Racial  Proportions  (Knowledge,  vol.  22,  pp.  125-128,  Lon- 
don, 1899). 

Tozzer,  Alfred  M. 

1907.  I.  A Comparative  Study  of  the  Mayas  and  the  Lacandones 
(Report  of  the  Fellow  in  American  Archaeology,  1902-1905, 
Archaeological  Institute  of  America,  New  York,  1907). 

Tylor,  Edward  B. 

1889.  I.  Primitive  Culture.  Researches  into  the  Development  of 
Mythology,  Philosophy,  Religion,  Languages,  Art  and  Custom. 
2 vols.  New  York,  1889. 

1889.  II.  A Method  of  Investigating  the  Development  of  Institu- 
tions, etc.  (Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  vol.  18, 
pp.  245-269,  1889). 

Researches  into  the  Early  History  of  Mankind  and  the  Develop- 
ment of  Civilization.  New  York,  no  date. 

Uhle,  Max. 

1903.  I.  Pachacamac.  Report  of  the  William  Pepper,  M.D.,  LL.D. 
Peruvian  Expedition  of  1896  (University  of  Pennsylvania,  De- 
partment of  Archaeology,  1903). 

1913.  I.  Die  Muschelhugel  von  Ancon,  Peru  (Proceedings,  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Americanists,  London,  1913). 

Uhle,  Max,  and  Stubel,  A. 

1892.  I.  Die  Ruinenstatte  von  Tiahuanaco  im  Hochlande  des  Alten 
Peru.  Breslau,  1892. 

de  la  Vega,  Garcilasso. 

1688.  I.  The  Royal  Commentaries  of  Peru.  Translated  by  Sir  Paul 
Ricaut.  London,  1688. 

Volk,  Ernest. 

1911.  I.  The  Archaeology  of  the  Delaware  Valley  (Papers,  Pea- 
body Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  vol.  5, 
Cambridge,  1911). 

Von  den  Steinen,  Karl. 

1897.  I.  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Zentral-Brasiliens.  Berlin,  1897. 

Waterman,  T.  T. 

1914.  I.  The  Explanatory  Element  in  the  Folk-tales  of  the  North- 
American  Indians  (Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  vol.  27,  pp. 
1-54,  Lancaster,  1914). 

Waterman,  T.  T.  and  Coffin,  Geraldine. 

1920.  I.  Types  of  Canoes  on  Puget  Sound  (Indian  Notes  and 
Monographs,  Museum  of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Founda- 
tion, New  York,  1920). 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


448 

Waterman,  T.  T.  and  Collaborators. 

1921.  I.  Native  Houses  of  Western  North  America  (Indian  Notes 
and  Monographs,  Museum  of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Founda- 
tion, New  York,  1921). 

Waugh,  F.  W. 

1916.  I.  Iroquois  Foods  and  Food  Preparation  (Memoir,  86,  no. 
12,  Geological  Survey,  Anthropological  Series.  Ottawa,  1916). 

Webster,  Hutton. 

1908.  I.  Primitive  Secret  Societies.  A Study  in  Early  Politics  and 
Religion.  New  York,  1908. 

Whiffen,  Thomas. 

1915.  I.  The  Northwest  Amazons.  Notes  of  Some  Months  spent 
among  Cannibal  Tribes.  New  York,  1915. 

Will,  George  F.  and  Hyde,  George  E. 

1917.  I.  Corn  Among  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri  (Little 
Histories  of  North  American  Indians,  No.  5,  St.  Louis,  1917). 

Will,  George  F.  See  Spinden,  Herbert  J.,  and  Will,  George  F. 

Willoughby,  Charles  C. 

1905.  I.  Dress  and  Ornaments  of  the  New  England  Indians  (Amer- 
ican Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  7,  pp.  499-508,  Lancaster,  1905). 

1906.  I.  Houses  and  Gardens  of  the  New  England  Indians  (Ameri- 
can Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  8,  pp.  115-132,  Lancaster,  1906). 

Wilson,  Gilbert  L. 

1917.  I.  Agriculture  of  the  Hidatsa  Indians,  an  Indian  Interpreta- 
tion (University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis,  1917). 

Wilson,  N.  L.  and  Atkinson,  Alfred. 

1915.  I.  Corn  in  Montana.  History,  Characteristics,  Adaptation 
(Montana  Agricultural  College  Experiment  Station,  Bozeman, 
Montana,  1915). 

Wilson,  Thomas. 

1896.  I.  The  Swastika,  the  Earliest  Known  Symbol,  and  its  Migra- 
tions; with  Observations  on  the  Migration  of  Certain  Industries 
in  Prehistoric  Times  (Report,  United  States  National  Museum 
for  1894,  Washington,  1896). 

Wintemberg,  W.  J. 

1901.  I.  Indian  Village  Sites  in  the  Counties  of  Oxford  and  Water- 
loo (Annual  Archaeological  Report,  1900,  Appendix,  Report  Min- 
ister of  Education,  Toronto,  1901). 

Wissler,  Clark. 

1904.  I.  Decorative  Art  of  the  Sioux  Indians  (Bulletin,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  18,  part  3,  New  York,  1904). 

1909.  I.  Notes  Concerning  New  Collections  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  2,  part  2, 
New  York,  1909).  Editor. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


449 


Wissler,  Clark. 

1910.  I.  Material  Culture  of  the  Blackfoot  Indians  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  5,  part  1, 
New  York,  1910). 

1911.  I.  The  Social  Life  of  the  Blackfoot  Indians  (Anthropological 
Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  7,  part  1, 
New  York,  1911). 

1912.  I.  North  American  Indians  of  the  Plains  (Handbook  Series, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  no.  1,  New  York,  1912). 

1912.  II.  Ceremonial  Bundles  of  the  Blackfoot  Indians  (Anthro- 
pological Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol. 
7,  part  2,  New  York,  1912). 

1912.  III.  Societies  and  Ceremonial  Associations  in  the  Oglala  Divi- 
sion of  the  Teton-Dakota  (Anthropological  Papers,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  11,  part  1,  New  York,  1912). 

1912.  IV.  The  Psychological  Aspects  of  the  Culture-Environment 
Relation  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  14,  pp.  217-225, 
Lancaster,  1912). 

1914.  I.  The  Influence  of  the  Horse  in  the  Development  of  Plains 
Culture  (American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.  vol.  16,  pp.  1-25,  Lan- 
caster, 1914). 

1915.  I.  Riding  Gear  of  the  North  American  Indians  (Anthropo- 
logical Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  17, 
part  1,  New  York,  1915). 

1915.  II.  Costumes  of  the  Plains  Indians  (Anthropological  Papers, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  vol.  17,  part  2,  New 
York,  1915). 

1916.  I.  General  Discussion  of  Shamanistic  and  Dancing  Societies 
(Anthropological  Papers,  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, vol.  11,  part  12,  New  York,  1916). 

1916.  II.  Aboriginal  Maize  Culture  as  a Typical  Culture-Complex 
(The  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  vol.  21,  no.  5,  Chicago. 
1916). 

Zon,  Raphael. 

1916.  I.  South  American  Timber  Resources  and  their  Relation  to 
the  World’s  Timber  Supply  (The  Geographical  Review,  vol.  2, 
no.  4,  pp.  256-266,  October,  1916). 


INDEX 


Abipones,  137,  249,  250-251 

Aboriginal  life,  complexity  of, 

132 

Abrading,  pebbles  showing  process, 
120 

Acia  niopo  berry,  snuff  powder, 
27 

Accent,  stress,  little  used  in  Amer- 
ican phonetics,  31 1 

Acorn,  area,  11 ; bread,  11,  225;  in- 
dustry, northern  extension  of, 
371  ; meal,  cooked  in  baskets, 
California,  384 ; preparation  of, 
for  food,  11 

Adhesions,  associations  between  so- 
cial trait-complexes,  385-386 

Adultery,  punishment  for,  186 

Adze,  distribution  of,  124 

Africa,  age-societies  of,  393 ; tales 
from,  in  New  World  mythology, 
209 

Age,  grades,  170-171 ; grades,  Plains 
Indian  societies,  382 ; grading  sys- 
tems, origin  of,  393-394  ; societies, 
men’s,  170-171 ; societies,  Plains, 
393-394;  system  of  societies  in 
America,  393 

Aged,  treatment  of,  187-188 

Agricultural,  areas,  12-19;  products, 
Amazon  Basin,  18;  products, 
Chibcha  peoples,  17;  products, 
Ecuador,  17;  products,  Inca,  17- 
18 ; products,  Pueblo  peoples,  16 ; 
rituals,  194 

Agriculture,  Amazon  Basin,  18 ; 
Amazon  tribes,  237;  area  of  in- 
tensive, outlined,  2 ; area  of  in- 
tensive, 14,  16;  Chibcha  area, 

246 ; control  of,  by  Inca  and  Na- 
hua,  184 ; cultural  differences  in 
Colombia,  Ecuador,  and  Peru,  17- 
18;  diffusion  of,  24-25;  distribu- 
tion in  America,  25 ; Eastern 


Woodland  Area,  235,  236-237 ; 
extensive,  Maya,  243 ; guanaco 
area,  249 ; high  organization  of 
in  Nahua  and  Maya  areas,  16; 
Inca  area,  248 ; intensive,  Aztec, 
244 ; lack  of,  in  the  Plains,  220 ; 
limits  of  distribution  in  North 
America,  12-13;  main  dependence 
on  in  Southwest  area,  239 ; no- 
madic tribes  of  the  Southwest, 
241-242;  in  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds,  391-392;  Southeastern 
area,  237,  238;  still  maintained 
by  Amazon  tribes,  18;  woman’s 
work  in  eastern  maize  area,  14 
Alaska-Siberian  type  of  pottery,  69- 
70 

Aleutian  Islands,  archaeology  of 
277 ; basketry  of,  50,  55 
Algonkin,  45,  50,  78,  no,  in,  163, 
178-179,  182,  208,  231,  235,  256, 
293,  334,  362,  368;  possible  his- 
torical relation  to  Eskimo,  126. 
See  also  Algonquian 
Algonquian,  languages,  320 ; lin- 
guistic area,  271 ; stock,  320,  321, 
322,  387 ; stock  in  California, 
319;  stock,  consolidated  with 
California  stocks,  403  ; stock,  lin- 
guistic and  tribal  groups,  403- 
419;  stocks,  linguistic,  recently 
combined  with,  309 
Alpaca,  herded  for  wool,  36 
Altars,  sand  painted,  Pueblo  area, 
241 

Amazon  area,  culture  characteriza- 
tion of,  251-257 

Amherst  students,  bodily  propor- 
tions. 341 

Ancestors,  family,  carving  influ- 
enced by  beliefs  concerning,  89 
Angakok,  189 

Animal,  lodges,  Caddoan,  202 ; tales. 

451 


452 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


prevalence  of,  in  mythology,  206; 
transport,  distribution  of,  29 
Animals,  clan  and  gens  names  de- 
rived from,  172 ; domestication 
of,  28-38 ; early  introduction  of 
European,  38 ; hoofed,  similarity 
of  root  terms  for,  in  several  lan- 
guages, 319;  life-like  forms  of, 
carved,  89 ; Old  World,  early 
adoption  in  Southeastern  area, 
238 ; take  on  human  qualities  in 
mythology,  206 
Animism,  212-213 

Anthropology,  aims  of,  xvii,  386- 
388 ; uncoordinated  sciences,  mak- 
ing up  the  whole,  359 
Antilles,  40,  43,  52,  65,  68,  76, 
1 17,  125,  127,  138,  165,  252; 

archaeological  characterization  of, 
279,  281 ; cultural  characterization 
of,  257 

Antiquity,  of  archaeological  deposits 
in  the  Arctic,  not  established, 
277 ; of  archaeological  remains 
in  California,  276 ; of  cultures  in 
Peru,  283 ; of  remains,  in  Pata- 
gonia, 285-286 ; of  skeletal  re- 
mains, 354,  356 
Antler,  process  of  working,  127 
Apu  Ollantay,  Inca  drama,  210 
Aqueduct  systems,  Peru  and  Mex- 
ico, 108 

Araucanians,  158,  176,  249,  250,  251 
Arawak,  41,  165,  247,  251,  255,  257; 

distribution  of,  252 
Arawakan  stock,  320,  368 ; tribal 
groups,  415-416 

Arch,  absence  of  in  New  World 
architecture,  102 

Archaeological  areas,  262 ; areas, 
agreement  with  historic  culture 
areas,  361,  367;  centers,  361-364 
Archaeological  characterization  of 
culture  areas,  Antilles,  279,  281 ; 
Arctic  area,  277 ; Atlantic  High- 
lands, 284-285 ; California,  274- 
276 ; Canadian  area,  277 ; Central 
Mexico,  278 ; Chile,  283-284 ; Co- 
lombia, 281-282;  Columbia  Basin, 
226 ; Ecuador,  282-283 ; Great 
Cakes  area,  270-271 ; Iroquoian 


area,  266-268 ; Mississippi-Ohio 
area,  268-270 ; North  Atlantic 
area,  261,  263-265 ; Northern 

Mexico,  277-278;  North  Pacific 
Coast,  277;  Panama,  279;  Pata- 
gonia, 285-286 ; Peru,  283  ; Plains 
area,  271-272;  Pueblo  area,  272-  ; 

274 ; South  Atlantic  area,  265- 
266 ; State  of  Oaxaca,  278 ; Yu- 
catan, 278 

Archaeological  classification,  261- 
286 ; correlated  with  cultural 
classification,  360-364;  close  cor- 
respondence with  historic  classi- 
fication, 370 

Archaeological  specimens,  manner  of 
classification,  261 

Archaeology,  Eskimo,  231 ; Euro- 
pean, 294-296 ; Iroquoian,  362 ; 
North  America,  261-281;  South 
America,  281-286 

Architecture,  102-118;  centers  of 
development,  102;  Inca  area,  232; 
Pueblo,  106,  273,  274 

Armor,  defensive,  137;  Northern 
California,  227;  North  Pacific 
Coast  area,  228 ; Plateau  area, 

223 

Arrow-head,  common  types  of,  123 ; 
distribution  and  form,  122; 
North  Pacific  Coast  area,  228 

Art,  center,  Pueblo,  80-82 ; charac- 
teristics of  New  World,  96 ; dec- 
orative, Eastern  Woodland  area, 
236.  237;  decorative,  modern  re- 
vival in,  xvi ; decorative,  Northern 
California,  227 ; decorative,  North 
Pacific  Coast  area,  228  ; decorative, 
Plateau  area,  223 ; double-curve, 
85-88  ; geometric,  79 ; geometric, 
Plains,  220 ; geometric  and  realis- 
tic, 77 ; individualities  in,  96 ; of 
intense  culture  area,  91  ; localiza- 
tion  of,  371 ; Maya,  high  develop- 
ment of,  289,  298-299 ; Plains,  83, 
84-85  ; realistic,  85-86  ; symbolic, 

240 

Artifacts,  archaeological,  Northern 
Mexico,  277 ; California  area,  274- 
275;  Columbia  Basin,  276;  most 
Qommon  in  Antilles,  279,  281 ; 


INDEX 


geographical  segregation  of, 
North  Atlantic  area,  264-265 ; 
stones,  types,  and  distribution, 
122-128 

Arts,  fine,  140-155;  mechanical, 
Pueblo  area,  240;  textile,  42-65 

Astronomical  knowledge,  New 
World  peoples,  136 

Athapascan  stock,  310,  316,  320, 
321,  368;  distribution,  365;  im- 
migrants from  the  North,  372 ; 
linguistic  and  tribal  groups,  404, 
4i3 

Atlantic  Highlands,  archaeological 
characterization  of,  284-285 

Australians,  336,  342 ; bodily  pro- 
portions, 341 

Ax,  copper,  129-130;  grooved,  dis- 
tribution, 123 

Axes,  perforated,  in  Neolithic  Eu- 
rope, 127 

Aymara,  distribution,  247 ; stock, 
416 

Aztec,  28,  140,  143,  171,  194,  195, 
196,  243,  244,  271,  292;  culture, 
similarity  to  Maya,  244-245  ; most 
typical  of  the  Nahua  culture,  242 

Bakairi,  340 

Balsa,  distribution  of,  40 ; in  Pla- 
teau area,  225 

Bands,  found  among  hunting 
groups,  160-162;  quill-worked,  86- 
87,  90 

Bannerstone,  125 ; possibly  a mesh 
gauge,  48 

Barefoot  regions,  outlined,  60-65 

Bark-beater,  ridged,  136 

Basketry,  48-53,  240;  area,  outlined, 
80 ; California  area,  50,  52,  96, 
226;  cane,  53,  90-91;  central 

group.  North  Pacific  Coast  tribes, 
221,  228;  decorations  on,  76;  dis- 
tinguished from  cloth,  53 ; distri- 
bution of  types,  52 ; eastern  maize 
area,  90-91;  Eskimo,  90,  230; 
Haida  and  Tlingit,  90 ; imbricated, 
80 ; Northern  Shoshonean  tribes, 
224;  Pima,  241;  Plateau  area, 
223 ; Southeastern  area,  90-91 ; 
Southwestern  area,  240-241 ; 


453 

splint,  52-53 ; techniques,  80 ; 
Tlingit,  227 

Baskets,  Aleutian,  74 ; California,  de- 
signs on,  analyzed,  85 ; California, 
specialization  in,  371 ; cane,  78, 
238  ; classification  of,  50-52  ; cook- 
ing, 52 ; decoration  of,  76-78 ; 
flexible,  55 

Bast  fibers,  used  in  textiles,  42-43 
Beadwork,  82-84 ; design  elements 
in  Plains,  85 ; floral  designs  on, 
86 ; Plains  designs  analyzed,  85 
Bear,  belief  in  power  of,  212 
Bee,  domestication  of,  28,  38,  244 
Betel  nut  culture,  analogy  of  to- 
bacco chewing  to,  25 
Berries,  used  as  food,  Dene,  232 ; 
Carrier,  8 ; salmon  area,  10 ; and 
fruits,  rarity  in  acorn  area,  11 
Birchbark,  canoes  of,  42 ; covers 
for  tipis,  in;  decorations  on,  85, 
86;  high  development  of  drawing 
on,  87 ; vessels  and  canoes  asso- 
ciated, 53 ; work  in  Mackenzie 
area,  371 

Bison  area,  3,  31,  35,  36,  42,  52, 
66,  in,  127,  161,  186,  209,  211, 
213,  351;  costume,  63;  described, 
6 ; designs,  83 ; pottery  made  in, 
68 ; types  of  culture  in,  369 
Bison,  eastern  range  of,  14 ; meth- 
ods of  hunting,  6-7 ; use  of  cen- 
tered in  the  Plains,  371.  See  also 
buffalo 

Bite,  comparative  observation  on, 
328-329 

“Black  drink,”  Southeastern  area, 
239 ; widespread  use  of,  195 
Black-on-white  pottery,  distribution, 
273 

Blanket,  Chilkat,  55,  59,  90,  227; 
Navajo,  77,  81-82 ; rabbitskin,  57- 
58,  225 

Blind  dupe,  distribution  of  story, 
208 

Blood-clot  Boy,  story,  209 
Blood  feuds,  tribes  with  simple  or- 
ganization, 181 

Blood,  offering,  Maya  and  Nahua, 
203 ; as  a means  of  purification, 
213;  vengeance,  right  of  recog- 


454 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


nized  in  North  America,  177; 
vengeance,  tribes  of  Gulf  States, 
179 

Blowgun,  distribution,  138;  used  in 
hunting,  Amazon  Basin,  19 
Boats,  Eskimo,  41 ; frame,  distribu- 
tion, 40;  in  the  New  World,  38-41 
Bochica,  Chibcha  culture  hero,  2 11, 
246 

Bodily  proportions,  338,  340,  341 ; 

unity  of,  in  the  New  World,  338 
Bola,  35,  249,  251 ; stone,  Patagonia, 
286 

Bone,  artifacts,  in  Missouri  Valley, 
271 ; objects  of,  California  area, 
275  J prevailing  tool  materials  in 
hunting  areas,  127 ; process  of 
working,  127 

Boomerang,  Pueblo  area,  240 
Boundaries,  to  culture  areas,  257- 
259 ; of  pottery  area,  66-68 
Bow,  in  bison  area,  35 ; distribution, 
138-139;  musical,  154;  sinew- 
backed,  393 ; universal  use  of, 

138-139 

Bowdrill,  132 

Bowls,  knot,  Eastern  Woodland 
area,  371 

Boxes,  and  plank  work,  specializa- 
tion in,  371 

Bread,  acorn,  11,  225;  cassava  root, 
24 ; coonti  roots,  237 ; hemlock 
bark,  10;  tuckahoe  and  persim- 
mon, 14 

Breadth,  of  head,  331,  333,  334,  335 
Bricks,  made  in  Mexico,  72 
Bridges,  suspension,  in  Peru,  108 
Bronze,  Age,  294 ; made  in  Inca 
area,  248 ; use  of  in  the  New 
World,  130-131,  392 
Brush  shelters,  113 
Buffalo,  dependence  on,  by  Plains 
Indians,  219-220,  231  ; hair,  used 
as  fiber,  42 ; hair,  spinning,  47 ; 
hair  weaving,  northern  extension 
of,  59.  See  also  bison 
Building,  art,  diffusion  of,  107 ; 
northern  limits  of  Nahua,  106- 
107 

Buildings,  Peru  and  Yucatan,  dif- 
ferences in,  103-104;  stone, 


Pueblo  and  Eskimo  areas,  109-no 
Bull-boat,  40,  249 

Bundles,  ceremonial,  197-198;  ritu- 
als for,  378 

Burial,  form  of,  265,  266;  in  gravel 
banks,  Mississippi-Ohio  area,  270  ; 
mound,  distribution,  105-106,  283 ; 
platform,  guanaco  area,  249 ; urn, 
73,  109,  265,  284,  285 
Burning  Cannibal,  distribution  of 
story,  208 


Cache,  important  invention  caribou 
area,  6 ; pits.  North  Atlantic  area, 
263,  264 

Cahokia  mound,  105,  116,  268 
Calabash  rattle,  distribution  of,  201 
Calchaqui,  109,  284;  stock,  249,  250, 
416 

Calendar,  system,  Maya,  192,  244; 
Maya,  aid  to  establishing  chronol- 
ogy, 288 

California,  area,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  274-276 ; area, 
characterization  of  culture,  225- 
227,  37i;  culture  traits,  in  Pla- 
teau area,  225 

Calpulli,  function  of,  among  Nahua, 
176 

Calumet,  pipe,  178;  procedure, 
Southeastern  area,  239 
Camas,  chief  root  used  in  salmon 
area,  9-10;  roasting,  distribution 
of,  37i 

Canadian  area,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  377 
Cane,  baskets,  52-53,  78,  90-91,  95; 

tube,  for  smoking,  125 
Cannibal,  cult,  North  Pacific  Coast 
tribes,  228 ; feast,  Amazon  tribes, 
254;  society,  Nootka,  202 
Cannibalism,  Inca  area,  248 ; South 
Atlantic  area,  266 
Canoe  culture,  Amazon  area,  256 
Canoes,  38-41  ; West  Indies,  40 
Carib,  41,  170,  247,  251,  252,  257; 

stock,  320,  368,  416 
Caribou  area,  4,  31,  35;  dependence 
of  Canadian  tribes  and  Eskimo 
upon,  3-4 ; tribal  groups  in,  3 


INDEX 


Caribou,  range  of,  i,  3,  4;  range 
and  importance  of,  Mackenzie 
area,  231 

Carving,  in  Columbia  Basin,  276 ; 
distribution  of,  88-89,  145 ; ivory, 
89;  North  Pacific  Coast  area,  112, 
228;  stone,  140;  wood,  88-89,  145 
Casas  Grandes,  274,  278 
Cassava,  area  of  cultivation,  24 ; 
preparation  for  use,  24.  See 
Manioc 

Catlinite,  use  of,  in  Great  Lakes  area, 
271 

Cattle,  introduction  of,  8,  34,  249 
Cave  culture,  in  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds,  294-295 

Cedarbark,  fiber,  42 ; weaving,  55, 
136 

Ceilings,  102 ; absence  of  vaulted, 
Nahua  buildings,  106 
Celt,  123 ; distribution  of  Porto 
Rican,  280-281  ; hafted,  124,  127; 
Iroquoian  area,  267 ; jadeite, 

125 

Central  Algonkin,  55,  195,  198,  201, 
202,  235 

Central  Mexico,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  278 
Cephalic  index,  distribution  in  the 
New  World,  329-333 ; rapid 
change  in,  immigrant  population 
of  United  States,  332 ; range  and 
variability  of,  331-332;  tribal 
groups,  according  to  culture  areas, 
352 

Ceramic  arts,  66-75 
Cereal  complex,  Old  World,  maize 
culture  adapted  to,  381 
Ceremonial  tablets,  birchbark,  135 
Ceremonialism,  great  development 
of,  191 

Ceremonies,  Amazon  tribes,  254 ; 
dogs  eaten  during,  36 ; eagles  and 
serpents  confined  for,  28 ; Eastern 
Woodland  area,  236;  Eskimo  area, 
230 ; Inca  area,  248 ; Lacandones, 
244;  localization  of,  371 ; mar- 
riage, 187;  Maya.  192-193  5 Mex- 
ican, 194 ; Northern  California, 
226 : patterns  for,  377-378 ; 

Pueblo  area,  241 ; rituals  of 


455 

Pueblo  and  North  Pacific  Coast, 
210;  tribal  patterns  for,  381 
Ceremony,  Atamalqualiztli,  194 ; 
masked,  193;  new-fire,  194;  typi- 
cal New  World,  205 
Chacmool  statue,  140-141,  142 
Chavin  Stone,  108 
Cheyenne,  66,  158,  21 1,  218,  322, 
340 ; migrations  of,  372 
Chibcha,  agricultural  products  of, 
17;  area,  156,  165,  192,  199,  202, 
211,  213,  245-247,  281;  area,  cul- 
tural characterization  of,  245-247 
Chichen  Itza,  141,  288 
Chilan  Balam,  Books  of,  146 
Children,  care  and  training  of,  187- 
189 

Chile,  archaeological  characterization 
of,  283-284 

Chilkat,  55,  59,  90,  227 
Chimney,  absence  of,  in  aboriginal 
houses,  1 15 

Chipping,  process  of,  120;  unusual 
objects  made  by,  123 
Chiriqui,  93,  245  ; pottery  from,  75 
Chronological,  position  of  certain 
stone  objects.  Great  Lakes  area, 
271  ; types  of  man,  354-357 
Chronologies,  determination  of,  296- 
303  ; determined  by  stratification, 
291-294;  inferential,  296-300 
Chronology,  basis  for  solution  of 
problems  of  similarity  between 
Maya  and  Asiatic  drawings,  394- 
395 ; of  cultures,  297-303 ; estab- 
lished by  stratification  of  pottery 
in  Mexico,  292 ; inapplicability  of 
Old  World,  to  the  New  World, 
294-296 ; Maya,  288-289  > Mex- 
ican, 289-290  ; of  sculptures,  140  ; 
Southwestern,  82 

Civilization,  centers  of,  in  the  New 
World,  399 

Clan,  defined,  162;  system,  Arawak, 

165 

Clans,  162-166;  and  gentes,  geo- 
graphical distribution,  163-165 ; 
Iroquois,  165,  167;  Pueblo,  165 
Classification  of  man,  basis  of,  324- 
326;  breadth  of  face,  326;  flatten- 
ing of  the  femur,  327;  flattening 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


456 


of  the  tibia,  327;  by  hair,  324- 
325 ; by  skin,  325 

Classifications,  correlation  of,  359- 
374 

Classificatory  system  of  relationship, 
distribution  of,  168 
Clay,  edible,  18 ; modeling  in,  143 
Cliff-dweller,  house  type  distribu- 
tion, 274 ; houses,  basketry  re- 
mains in,  52 ; houses,  textiles 
from,  58 ; ruins,  textiles  from,  82 
Cloth,  53-59;  bark,  136;  clothing  of, 
62 ; cotton  in  manioc  area,  59 ; 
Peruvian,  57-58 

Clothing,  60-65  J Amazon  tribes, 
254 ; California  area,  226 ; East- 
ern Woodland  area,  236 ; Eskimo, 
dependence  on  caribou  for,  5 ; 
guanaco  area,  250 ; Mackenzie 
area,  231 ; North  Pacific  Coast 
area,  238 ; Plains,  220 ; Plateau 
area,  223 ; Pueblo  area,  240  ; skin, 
44,  298 ; Southeastern  area,  238 ; 
southwestern  Dene,  232-233  ; tail- 
ored, diffusion  of,  60-62 ; tailored, 
in  the  Old  World,  62,  64 
Cloud  terrace,  Pueblo  symbol,  99,  100 
Coca-chewing,  25-26 ; Chibcha  area, 
246 

Codex,  Mexican,  resemblance  to 
year  counts,  134- 135 
Codices,  146;  Maya,  134;  Mexican 
and  Maya,  143 

Coil,  method  in  making  pottery,  69 ; 

spiral,  direction  of,  in  basketry,  52 
Coiled,  basketry,  distribution,  50,  52 ; 
pottery,  Pueblo  area,  273 ; tech- 
nique in  basketry,  80 
Collars,  stone,  in  the  Antilles,  125 
Colombia,  archaeological  character- 
ization of,  281-282 
Colonnades,  common,  in  Mexican 
houses,  103 

Colonization,  Spanish,  changes 
caused  by,  8,  34,  249 ; realism  in 
textile  art  due  to,  91-92 
Color  sequences,  in  Peruvian  de- 
signs, 93 

Columbia,  area,  culture  of,  292 ; 
Basin,  archaeological  characteriza- 
tion of,  276 


Communal,  character  of  land  sys- 
tem, 183-184 ; foundation  of  agri- 
cultural concept,  184 
Communistic  government,  156 
Complex,  cotton,  unity  in  the  New 
World,  47;  horse-riding,  34-35; 
maize,  unity  in  New  World,  47 
Confession,  conventional,  Inca  area, 
248 ; of  sins,  distribution  of, 
214 

Conventionalization,  in  design,  86 
Convergence,  in  culture,  theory  of, 
377 

Copper,  aboriginal  workings  of,  270 ; 
knives,  124,  126 ; Lake  Superior, 
129;  mining,  129;  tools,  129-130, 
243 ; work  in,  North  Pacific 
Coast,  228 

Cortez,  1 18,  242,  245,  290 
Costume,  bison  area,  64 ; distribu- 
tion and  types  in  the  Old  World, 
62-64 ; tailored,  60-64 
Cotton,  armor  of,  137;  culture,  dis- 
tribution, 43 ; raised  in  South 
America,  55 ; unity  of  New  World 
complex,  47 

Couvade,  in  South  America,  193 
Cranes,  domestication  of,  28 
Crane  Bridge,  distribution  of  story, 
208 

Creation,  in  mythology,  208 
Crests,  North  Pacific  Coast  tribes, 
228 

Crime,  compounding  of,  177;  pun- 
ishment for,  175-181 
Cro-Magnon  man,  347,  349-350 
Crops,  aboriginal,  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 12-13 

Cross-cousin  marriage,  186 
Cults,  Mazateca,  194 ; shamanistic, 
201-202 

Cultural  classification,  correlated 
with  archaeological  classification, 
360-364 

Culture,  Amazon  area,  252-253,  255- 
256 ; American,  independent  de- 
velopment of,  12;  of  the  Antilles, 
257 ; anthropological  conception 
of,  217;  areas,  close  agreement 
with  archaeological  areas,  367; 
areas,  North  America,  218-245; 


INDEX 


areas,  outlined,  217;  areas,  South 
America,  245-257 ; areas,  super- 
position of,  363 ; center,  Missis- 
sippi-Ohio  area,  268,  269 ; centers, 
257-259,  361,  362 ; centers  of  high- 
est, 215,  396-397;  centers,  origin 
of,  372 ; centers,  Peru,  283 ; cen- 
ters, stability  of,  372;  changes 
shown  in  shell-heaps,  293 ; chro- 
nology of,  287-303 ; classification 
of  social  groups  according  to, 
217-257 ; classifications,  historic 
and  prehistoric,  361 ; Columbia 
Basin,  276;  common  traits  in  New 
and  Old  Worlds,  392-393 ; com- 
plexes, elements  constituting,  386 ; 
by  conquest,  157 ; contrasts  in 
Inca  area,  247-248 ; correlated 
with  political  organization,  259 ; 
correlations  between  elevations 
and  variations  in,  368-369 ; corre- 
spondences between  Old  and  New 
Worlds,  390-392 ; correspondences 
between  Pueblo  and  Diaguite, 
284;  differences  in  Amazon  area, 
251-257;  differentiation  of,  a his- 
torical phenomena,  389 ; diffusion, 
78 ; evidence  of  early  in  New 
Jersey,  264-265 ; fundamental  dif- 
ferences in  New  and  Old  Worlds, 
xv ; fundamentals  of  Old  World, 
391 ; general  relations  with  lin- 
guistics and  somatology,  367-368 ; 
grouping,  307 ; grouping,  corre- 
lated with  language  grouping,  364- 
365 ; guanaco  area,  249-251  ; hero, 
in  mythology,  207  ; hero,  Peruvian, 
191 ; hero  trickster,  wide  diffusion 
of  concept,  212 ; historical  con- 
ception of,  387-388 ; intergrada- 
tions of,  257-258 ; material,  sta- 
bility of,  373-374 ; means  of  in- 
terpretation of,  386-388 ; Mongo- 
loid-Red peoples,  contributions  to, 
396-398 ; most  advanced  in  area 
of  intense  agriculture,  14 ; origin, 
theories  of,  375-388 ; periods,  in 
Eastern  United  States,  295  ; Plains, 
218-222;  possibility  of  transposi- 
tions of,  369 ; seafaring,  40-41 ; 
sequence  in  the  New  World,  301 ; 


457 

sequences  in,  294 ; subdivisions  of. 
South  Atlantic  area,  265-268 ; 
subdivisions  of,  Atlantic  High- 
lands, 284-285 ; subdivisions,  Co- 
lombia, 281-282;  subdivisions, 
Ecuador,  283 ; succession  of,  in 
Chile,  283-284  ; term  defined,  384  ; 
time  required  for  development  of, 
347 ; trait-association,  384-386 ; 
traits,  correlation  with  faunal  and 
floral  distributions,  371 ; traits, 
originality  of  many  New  World, 
391 ; traits,  patterns  for,  377- 
378;  traits,  similarities  in,  375- 
376;  traits,  South  American,  245- 
246;  types  of  Southwestern  area, 
239;  typical.  North  Atlantic  area, 
263-264;  unity  of,  in  California 
archaeology,  276 ; unity  in  funda- 
mentals, New  World,  215,  390- 
391 ; unity  of  original  Pueblo, 
273 ; varieties  in  Inca  area,  247- 
248;  varieties  of  mound  in  Ohio, 
269-270 

Cycle,  annual,  tribes  in  salmon  area, 
10;  religious,  Maya,  192;  yearly, 
ceremonial  202-203,  213 ; yearly, 
in  social  life,  1 60-161 

Cymotrichi,  found  in  Polynesian- 
European  group,  342 

Dakota,  97,  98,  111,  143,  151,  158, 
170,  182,  290,  335,  350,  378 

Dancing  Birds,  distribution  of  story, 
208 

Day  and  night,  origin  of,  as  told 
in  myths,  207 

Decoration,  architectural,  North  Pa- 
cific Coast,  1 12;  coiled  baskets, 
80 ; Colombia  pottery,  282 ; Ma- 
rajo  Island  pottery,  284;  Peruvian 
pottery,  93,  95 ; pottery,  74-75, 
81 ; pottery  and  baskets,  76,  77, 
78 

Decorations,  North  Pacific  Coast 
baskets,  90 ; painted  on  bark  and 
wood,  95 ; on  pottery  by  glaze, 
7i 

Decorative  art,  development  of,  99 ; 
features  of  Maya  and  Nahua 
buildings,  106-107 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


458 


Deer,  in  acorn  area,  1 1 ; chief  game 
in  eastern  maize  area,  14 
Deluge  concept,  distribution,  212 
Dene,  5,  50,  5 2,  87,  90,  113,  127, 
177,  186,  187,  200,  232-233 
Descent,  common,  Mongoloid,  and 
New  World  peoples,  324-325 ; 
morphological  grouping  of  man- 
kind based  on,  324 ; skin  color  in- 
dicating common  with  Asiatic 
peoples,  325 

Deserted  Children,  distribution  of 
story,  208 

Design,  areas.  North  America,  81 ; 
ceramic,  an  index  to  chronology, 
76 ; elements,  Plains  beadwork, 
85 ; geometric,  range  of,  76 ; 
names,  97,  98,  99 ; unity  of  con- 
cepts, Peruvian  pottery  and  cloth, 
94-95 

Designs,  alligator  and  armadillo, 
93 ; Algonkin  pottery,  78 ; anal- 
ysis of,  97-99 ; analytic  compari- 
son of,  85 ; Apache  baskets,  84 ; 
basketry  and  beadwork,  97;  bas- 
ketry, California  center,  80 ; 
beaded  and  painted,  Plains,  84 ; 
cane  basketry,  90-91,  95;  caribou 
and  eastern  maize  area,  85 ; Chil- 
kat  blankets,  90 ; decorative,  76- 
10 1 ; distribution  of,  80-96;  Inca 
textiles,  93 ; influenced  by  tech- 
nique of  basketry  and  weaving, 
77;  Navajo  blankets,  81-82; 
Northwest  Amazon,  95-96 ; painted 
on  pottery,  93,  95;  Peruvian,  se- 
ries of,  94 ; Plains  and  California, 
independent  origin  of,  85 ; Plains- 
like, Dene  shields,  234 ; pottery, 
74-75 , 78 ; realism  in,  77-80 ; 

Shoshoni  beadwork  and  basketry, 
84 ; symbolism  in,  97-101  ; South- 
western pottery,  80-82 ; textile, 
77-80,  90,  91,  92,  93-95;  on  urns, 
from  Chile,  284 
Diaguite,  284 

Dialects,  language,  defined,  305 
Diffusion,  in  art,  84 ; Aztec  traits  of 
culture,  245 ; cane  baskets,  78 ; 
cotton  complex,  43,  47 ; culture 
traits  in  the  Amazon,  256 ; grass 


dance,  380-381 ; historical  exam- 
ples of,  376 ; horse-complex  in 
the  New  World,  379 ; horse  and 
horse  culture,  249-250 ; house- 
building art,  107 ; maize  complex, 
23 ; material  complexes  in  the 
New  World,  379-381 ; methods  of 
reckoning  time,  136;  in  mythol- 
ogy, 209 ; wide,  New  World  cul- 
ture complexes,  399 ; Old  World 
traits  of  culture,  391-39 2 ; Plains 
Indian  societies,  299 ; similar  as- 
sociated culture  complexes,  384- 
385 ; skin  clothing  in  North 
America,  298 ; theory,  376,  377 ; 
trait-complexes,  382 ; white-man 
god  idea,  21 1-2 12 
Digging-stick,  Plateau  area,  223 
Digging  tools,  21 
Discipline,  187-189 
Disease,  ceremony  for  driving  out, 
193 

Dispersion,  of  language,  culture, 
and  somatic  characters,  369 ; of 
mankind,  348 ; of  primates,  345 
Divisions,  dual,  166- 168 
Divorce,  regulation  of,  187 
Dog,  culture,  32,  379 ; eaten  by 
Nootka  Cannibal  society,  202 ; 
first  appearance  in  Paleolithic  Eu- 
rope, 28 ; food,  36 ; hair  as  a 
textile  fiber,  42;  packing,  distri- 
bution, 31-32;  similarity  of  term 
for,  319;  traction,  379;  traction, 
intrusive  in  the  New  World,  32- 
34 ; transportation  by,  30,  32 ; use 
of  in  the  New  World,  30-32 
Domestication,  of  animals,  28-38 ; 
Inca  area,  248 

Doors,  New  World  houses,  103 
Double-curve,  art,  origin,  86 ; de- 
sign, 85-86 

Downward  weaving,  53-55 ; distri- 
bution of,  55 

Drama,  210;  cultivated  by  the  Inca, 
144,  210 
Drawing,  143 

Dream,  dance,  381 ; to  obtain  indi- 
vidual guardian,  197 
Drilling,  methods  of,  121-122,  132, 
133-134 


INDEX 


Drums,  varieties  and  distribution, 
154 

Dual,  divisions,  166-167 ; grouping 
of  tribes,  167 

Dug-out,  Amazon  Basin,  256 ; ca- 
noes, 227,  256;  North  Pacific 
Coast,  40-41 

Dyeing,  New  World,  392 

Earth-lodge,  no,  114,  220,  222;  dis- 
tribution, no 
Earthworks,  116-117 
Eastern  maize  area  2,  3,  12,  13,  21, 
23,  55>  59>  62,  90,  117,  123,  128, 
129 

Eastern  Woodland  area,  271,  368, 
369,  381 ; culture  characterization 
of,  234-237 

Ecuador,  archaeological  character- 
ization of,  282-283 
Economic  areas,  218 
Education,  187-189 ; Aztec,  244 
Effigy,  jars,  73;  mounds,  268;  ves- 
sels, from  Colombia,  282 
Elevation,  distribution  of  certain 
linguistic  stocks,  coincident  with, 
252;  range  of,  in  which  New 
World  cultures  expanded,  368- 

369 

Emerald  mines,  worked  in  Colom- 
bia, 282 

Emetics,  taken  as  a means  of  puri- 
fication, 195,  213 

Endogamy,  among  Pawnee,  163,  169 
Environment,  Chibcha  area,  246 ; 
factor  in  change  of  cephalic  in- 
dex, 332  ; influence  of,  370-374  ; 
similarity  of  bison  and  guanaco 
area,  34 

Eskimo,  10,  31,  33,  39,  40,  41,  48, 
49,  50,  52,  60,  67,  70,  74,  88,  89, 
90,  108,  109,  114,  121,  122,  123, 
124,  126,  127,  132,  133,  147,  149, 

167,  177,  186,  187,  188,  202,  213, 

214,  271,  277,  298,  326,  350,  352, 

353,  357  5 area,  characterization 
of  culture,  229-231 ; bodily  pro- 
portions of,  326,  340 ; character- 
ized as  to  food,  3,  4 ; distinct  type 
of  culture,  language,  and  somatic 
type,  366,  367;  groups  of,  229; 


459 

migrations,  to,  368;  possible  his- 
torical relation  with  Algonkin, 
126 

Etowah  mound,  116,  268 
Eurasiatic,  generalized  type  of  man, 
distribution  of,  343-344 
Evolution  theory,  not  applicable  to 
culture,  386 

Exogamic  groups.  North  Pacific 
Coast  tribes,  228 

Exogamous  regulations,  connected 
with  dual  divisions,  167-168 
Exogamy,  163;  coincident  with 
classificatory  system  of  relation- 
ship in  North  America,  168-169 
Expansion,  of  mankind,  extremes 
of,  346 

Explanatory  element,  in  mythology, 

207 

Eye,  fold,,  Mongolian,  in  the  New 
World,  325-326,  339;  form  of, 
New  World  man,  339;  color, 
New  World,  338 

Eye  Juggler,  distribution  of  story, 

208 

Face,  breadth  of,  New  World,  326, 
339 

Facial  angle,  New  World,  339 
Family  group,  has  title  to  lands 
among  Inca  and  Nahua,  183-184; 
importance  of  in  communistic 
government,  156;  importance  of 
in  government  of  Mexico,  157; 
independent  of  the  band,  1 60-161 
Fasting,  to  obtain  spiritual  mani- 
festation, 197 
Father-in-law  taboo,  169 
Fauna,  influence  of  on  culture 
traits,  371 

Feather  mosaics,  Aztec,  244;  Peru, 
60 

Feather-work,  59-60 
Federations,  of  tribal  groups,  158 
Femur,  flattening  of,  327 
Fertilization,  artificial,  range  of,  23 
Fiber,  textile,  classes  of,  42-43 ; 
twisting,  methods  of,  44-47 ; 
twisting,  universal  distribution  of, 
44,  53  ; twisting,  without  a spin- 
dle, Dene,  233 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


460 


Fibers,  bast,  42-43 ; distribution  cor- 
related with  whorl  distribution, 
44-45 ; wool,  43 
Fine  arts,  140-155 
Finger  weaving,  53-54 
Fire,  invention  of,  134;  renewal  of, 
associated  with  agriculture,  213; 
shamanistic  handling  of,  201 ; uni- 
versal use  of,  44 
Firedrill,  134 

Firing,  of  pottery,  methods  of,  69, 
70,  72 

Fish,  fertilizer  for  maize,  23 ; meth- 
ods of  taking,  14;  nets,  distribu- 
tion of  use,  48 ; taboo  against,  in 
bison  area,  6 ; taboo  against, 
among  Pueblo  tribes,  16 
Fishing,  absence  of  in  the  Plains, 
220 ; appliances  for,  Eskimo  and 
Indians,  6;  in  Peru,  18;  sea,  in 
salmon  area,  9 
Flageolets,  155 

Flint  workings,  aboriginal,  128 
Flora,  influence  on  culture  traits, 
37i 

Flutes,  155 

Flying  goose,  design,  distribution  of, 
98 

Folklore,  in  America,  content  of, 
206-207 

Food,  Amazon  tribes,  252,  254 ; ani- 
mals domesticated  for,  36,  38 ; 
areas,  1-27 ; areas,  general  lines  of 
culture  grouping  laid  down  by, 
371 ; California  area,  225 ; dogs 
as,  36 ; Eastern  Woodland  area, 
234,  235;  Eskimo  area,  229; 

guanaco  area,  249 ; lack  of  spe- 
cialization in  interior  Amazon, 
18-19;  processes  of  preparation, 
371;  Northern  California,  226; 
Northern  Shoshonean  tribes,  224- 
225 ; North  Pacific  Coast  area, 
227,  229;  Plains  area,  218,  220; 
Plateau  area,  223 ; Pueblo  In- 
dians, 239-240 ; Southwest  area, 
241 ; southwestern  Dene  group, 
232;  specialization  in,  a universal 
tendency,  1 ; specialization  in, 
371-372 

Foods,  Maya  and  Nahua,  16;  wild, 


correlated  with  instability  of  resi- 
dence, 10 
Footgear,  63-65 
Footrace,  ceremonial,  195 
Footwear,  forms  of,  63 ; guanaco 
area,  250 

Forests,  distribution  of,  in  South 
America,  253 

Fort  Ancient,  117;  mound  culture, 
268-270 

Fortifications,  117-118 
Four,  sacred  number  in  New  World, 
214 

Fox,  167;  society  song,  Dakota, 
151-152 

Fruits,  early  introduction  of  Euro- 
pean, 38 

Fuegians,  40,  65,  138,  188,  250,  251, 
327 , 336,  353 

Gauge,  mesh,  distribution  of,  48 
Gens,  defined,  162;  function,  in  so- 
cial organization  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  176 
Gentes,  162-166 

Geographical  grouping,  linguistic 
stocks,  316-317,  320-322 
Geometric,  art,  78-80 ; art,  bison 
area,  82-84 ; art,  produced  by 
women,  96 ; art,  Pueblo  pottery, 
80,  82 ; character  of  New  World 
designs,  76 ; designs,  in  bison 
area  made  by  women,  84 ; designs, 
84,  86-87 

Ghost  dance  religion,  376 
Gifts,  formal  presentation  of,  185 
Glaze,  on  pottery,  71 
Glazed  pottery,  distribution  of,  273 
Glottal  stops,  peculiarity  in  Ameri- 
can speech,  31 1,  313 
God  systems,  211-212 
Gods,  Mexican,  194 
Gold  work,  Aztec,  244 ; Chibcha, 
246 ; Ecuador,  283 ; high  develop- 
ment of,  by  Canarian,  248  ; in  Inca 
area,  248 ; Maya,  243  ; in  the  New 
World,  131 ; in  Panama,  279 
Gouge,  123 

Government,  compact,  coincident 
with  clan-gens  organization,  163, 
165;  Gulf  States,  179-180;  higher 


INDEX 


cultures  in  the  New  World,  156- 
157;  Inca  system,  157,  170-171 ; 
predominance  of  independent  trib- 
al, 159;  Pueblo,  159;  system  of 
the  Siouan,  178 

Grass  dance,  ceremonies,  376 ; dif- 
fusion of,  380-382 
Grave  Creek  mound,  268 
Great  Lake  area,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  270-271 
Groundplan,  Casas  Grandes,  274 ; 
characteristic  of  New  World 
architecture,  102;  Peruvian  house 
group,  106-107 
Group  marriage,  186 
Grouped  clans,  166- 168 
Grouping,  social,  156-174 
Groups,  local,  160-162 
Guanaco  area,  3,  7-8,  134,  138; 

changes  inaugurated  by  Spanish 
colonization,  8 ; culture  character- 
ization of,  249-251 
Guatovita,  sacrificial  shrine,  193 

Habitations,  Guanaco  area,  250 ; in- 
termediate Plains  tribes,  385 ; 
Plains  area,  220  ; prevailing,  Maya 
and  Nahua  area,  106;  United 
States  and  Canada,  types  and  dis- 
tribution, 109-115 
Hafting,  124,  126,  127 
Haida,  89,  90,  112,  138,  170,  227; 
stock,  310,  316;  stock,  linguistic 
and  tribal  grouping,  406 
Hair,  basis  of  classification  of  man, 
324-325  ; buffalo,  spinning  of,  42, 
47 ; form,  Asia  and  America,  324- 
325,  349  ; goat  and  dog,  as  textile 
fiber,  42;  grouping  of  New  World 
people  by,  342 ; New  World  man, 
338,  387 ; straight  black,  universal 
in  the  New  World,  324-325 
Hako  pipe  ritual,  Pawnee,  378 
Hammer,  grooved,  North  Pacific 
Coast,  123-124 
Hammerstone,  pitted,  124 
Hammocks,  cotton,  43,  55  ; southern 
limits  of  use,  109 

Headdresses,  feather,  bison  area,  60 
Head,  breadth  of,  326,  329  ; flatten- 
ing practised  among  the  Maya, 


461 

142  ; form  of,  338-339  ; form,  Asia 
and  America,  329-331  ; form, 
homogeneity  in,  331-332;  form, 
New  World,  329-336 ; form,  South 
America,  357 ; height  of,  334,  335  ; 
length  of,  333,  334 ; measure- 

ments, geographical  grouping  of, 
351-354 

Heating,  universal  method  of,  in 
America,  115 

Heavenly  bodies,  in  myths,  206 

Hemlock  bark,  made  into  bread-like 
food,  10 

Hereditary  right,  to  community 
functions,  185 

Heyoka  cult,  202 

Hidatsa,  19,  24,  30,  167,  170,  220, 
382 

Hierarchy,  priestly,  in  region  of  high 
cultures,  191  ; supernatural,  com- 
plexity of  Maya  and  Aztec,  194; 
supernatural,  of  the  Pueblo,  194- 
i95 

Historical,  chronologies,  New 
World,  288-290 ; conception  of 
culture,  386-388 ; connection, 
North  Pacific  Coast  area  with  Co- 
lumbia Basin,  277 ; connection, 
types  of  glazed  pottery,  273  ; types 
of  Pueblo  houses,  274;  data,  Na- 
hua culture,  242 

History,  Aztec,  289-290 ; of  man, 
Old  World,  294-295 ; Inca,  289 ; 
Maya,  288 ; Mexico,  Peru,  and 
Yucatan,  chronologies  based  upon, 
288 

Hoe,  distribution  of,  21-23 

Hogan,  Navajo,  m,  113,  115 

Hokan,  in  California,  318;  lin- 
guistic stocks  grouped  under,  309, 
403  ; proposed  name  for  combined 
stocks,  406 

Hopewell  mound  culture,  269-270 

Horned  serpent  concept,  wide  dis- 
tribution of,  212 

Horse,  complex,  taken  over  as  a 
whole  by  New  World  natives, 
379 ; cultivator,  first  in  England, 
21  ; culture,  32,  34 ; culture,  ac- 
quired in  the  New  World,  34- 
35 ; culture,  differences  between 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


462 


North  and  South  America,  34- 
35 ; culture,  guanaco  area,  138, 
249-250 ; culture,  New  World, 
379,  381 ; culture,  Spanish,  343 
Horses,  introduction  of,  6,  8,  249- 
250 

House  of  the  Nuns,  groundplan  of, 
104 

Houses,  adobe  and  stone,  106; 
Amazon  tribes,  254;  California 
area,  225 ; Chibcha  area,  246 ; 
Dene  area,  233 ; earth-covered, 
1 14;  Eastern  Woodland  area, 
234-236;  Eskimo,  113-114,  230; 
guanaco  area,  250 ; nomadic 
tribes,  241-242;  Northern  Cali- 
fornia, 226-227 ; North  Pacific 
Coast,  227,  229 ; Plateau  area, 
223,  224 ; Pueblo  area,  239,  275 ; 
southeastern  area,  227-228 ; south- 
western Dene,  233 ; stone,  distri- 
bution of,  1 14;  totem  pole,  North 
Pacific  Coast,  112;  types  and  dis- 
tribution, South  America,  108- 
109;  types  and  distribution,  108- 
115;  underground,  113 
Huaca,  defined,  192,  214 
Human,  carrier,  prevailing  mode  of 
transport,  New  World,  32,  35-36; 
flesh,  eaten  by  Gulf  tribes,  237- 
238;  sacrifice,  192-193,  195 
Hunting  areas,  309;  Inca,  17-18; 
interior  Amazon  Basin,  18-19; 
methods  of,  5,  6,  231,  236;  Pueblo 
area,  240 ; South  America,  7 ; 
Southeastern  area,  237-238 
Hymn,  Inca,  147-148 

Ice,  time  allowed  since  last  retreat 
of,  in  the  New  World,  347 
Ideals,  for  the  young  in  the  New 
World,  188-189 

Immigrant  population,  in  the  United 
States,  rapid  change  in  cephalic 
index,  332 

Immigration,  American  natives, 
northwestern  route,  341 
Implements,  copper,  Great  Lakes 
area,  270-271 ; stone  and  bone, 
Columbia  Basin,  276 ; stone, 
chronological  series  of,  119;  types 


of,  Ecuador,  283  ; types  of,  Pata- 
gonia, 286 ; types  of,  Venezuela, 
282 

Inca,  102,  105,  107,  1 18,  126,  143, 
147-148,  156,  157,  165,  170-171, 
183,  184,  185,  192,  193,  196,  199, 
202,  210,  21 1,  243,  247-248,  259, 
283,  290,  291,  292 ; area,  charac- 
terization of  culture,  247-248 ; 
controlled  Ecuador  at  Spanish 
Conquest,  17;  food,  17-18 
Incense  burning,  universal  distribu- 
tion, 213 

Incised  designs,  87 
Incising,  of  pottery,  75 
Incisor,  shovel-shaped,  in  the  New 
World,  327-328 

Indemnity,  in  payment  for  crime, 
180,  181 

Independent  development,  Plains  art, 
84-85;  New  World  cultures,  391- 
393  ; theory,  375-376 
Indian,  American,  popular  interests 
in,  xvi 

Individual  guardians,  197-198,  204- 
205 

Individuality,  cultural,  coincident 
with  political  unity,  375 
Infants,  exposing  of,  187 
Inheritance,  conception  of,  183-185 ; 
physical  traits,  perpetuated  by, 
387 ; rules  of,  185 

Inscriptions,  dated,  of  the  Maya, 
288 

Insects,  as  food,  12,  225 
Insignia,  feather,  bison  area,  60 
Instability  of  residence,  correlated 
with  use  of  wild  foods,  10 
Instruments,  musical,  i53"I55 
Interglacial  period,  marks  arrival  of 
man  in  the  New  World,  347 
Interpretations,  of  culture,  352- 
354 

Invention,  independent,  age-graded 
societies,  171,  382 ; independent, 
blowgun,  138;  independent,  pellet- 
shooting bow,  139;  independent, 
roller  printing,  282 ; independent, 
theory  of,  375 ; independent,  use 
of  zero,  135 

Inventions,  Old  World,  Chinese  pri- 


INDEX 


ority  in,  397,  398;  special,  132- 
139 

Iron,  absence  of,  in  New  World  cul- 
ture, 392;  age,  294 
Iroquoian,  area,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  265-268 ; stock, 
3 1 1,  317;  stock,  linguistic  and 
tribal  grouping,  406;  tribes,  234 
Iroquois,  13,  19,  31*  45,  73,  no,  n 7, 
133,  138,  158,  165,  166,  167,  179, 
180,  187,  237,  256,  264,  293,  362, 
364;  league  of  the,  158;  migra- 
tions of,  368 

Irrigation,  Chibcha  area,  246 ; Inca 
area,  248 ; limits  of,  24 ; South- 
west area,  241 ; systems,  Peru  and 
Mexico,  108 

Jaguar,  belief  in  power  of,  212 
Jesako  cult.  Central  Algonkin,  201 
Joking-relationship,  170 
Judicial  systems,  175-182;  Arau- 
canian,  176;  Dene,  177;  Hudson 
Bay  Eskimo,  177;  Maya,  176; 
Mexico  and  Peru,  180 ; Nahua, 
175-176;  Peru,  175 

Kayak,  Eskimo,  41 
Kia,  36 

Kiva,  1 1 4,  188,  274 
Knives,  122 ; copper,  124,  126 ; Es- 
kimo types  of,  124,  271  ; types  of, 
124 

Labor,  sexual  division  of,  14,  18, 
239 

La  Brea,  skeleton  found  in  asphait 
bed,  356 

Lacandone,  68,  91,  243-244 
Ladder  of  arrows,  distribution  of 
story,  208 

Land,  assigned  to  family  groups, 
156  ; laws,  Inca  and  Nahua,  184 
Language,  classification  of,  306-307 ; 
correlation  with  culture,  364-365  ; 
distribution  may  be  independent 
of  culture,  365 ; groups  in  Cali- 
fornia, 364;  independence  of  New 
World,  396 ; stability  of,  among 
immigrant  groups,  372-373 
Languages,  California,  313,  314,  316, 


463 

318,  319,  367;  classified  according 
to  internal  structure  of  the  word, 
316;  differentiation  of,  after  cul- 
tural pattern,  367 ; geographical 
types,  309-310;  grouping,  coinci- 
dent with  cultural  characters,  365  ; 
intergradation  of,  304-305 ; man- 
ner of  recording,  by  field-workers, 
3 1 1 ; similarity  within  a culture 
area,  365 

Lansing  Man,  354 
Lasso,  35 

Leiotrichi , found  in  Asian-American 
group,  342 

Linguistic,  classification,  304-323, 
364-365 ; diversity,  in  regions  of 
higher  culture,  320-321 ; investiga- 
tion, chief  result,  319;  stock,  con- 
ception, and  meaning,  305  ; stocks, 
Amazon  area,  251-252;  stocks, 
California,  comparative  morphol- 
ogy, 316;  stocks,  California,  mor- 
phological groups,  318;  stocks, 
California,  phonetic  uniformity  of, 
313;  stocks,  California,  proposed 
consolidation  of,  318-319;  stocks, 
distribution  of,  319-322;  stocks, 
extinct,  310;  stocks,  geographical 
grouping  of,  309-310  ; stocks,  group- 
ing of,  361,  364 ; stocks,  Inca  area, 
247 ; stocks,  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America,  308,  309,  412-415; 
stocks,  new  grouping  of,  309-310; 
stocks,  New  World  distribution, 
319-322;  stocks,  North  America, 
403-412;  stocks.  North  Pacific 
Coast,  morphology  of,  316-317; 
stocks,  number  of,  310;  stocks, 
South  America,  251-252,  312,  313, 
415-419;  stocks,  United  States  and 
Canada,  306-307,  403-412 
Linguistics,  correlation  with  culture, 
364-365 ; general  relations  with 
culture  and  somatology,  366-367 ; 
investigations  in,  304,  307-308 
Linked  clans,  165-166 
Literature,  143-152;  Aztec,  244; 

myths  regarded  as,  152,  210 
Llama,  domestication  of,  32,  36 ; as 
a pack  animal,  36 
Local  groups,  160-162 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


464 


Loom,  Antilles,  55 ; complex,  dif- 
fusion of,  55-57 ; in  South  Amer- 
ica, 55 ; weaving,  55-57 

Mackenzie  area,  371;  culture  char- 
acterized, 231-234 

Magic  Flight,  distribution  of  story, 
209 

Maize,  area  of  intense  cultivation, 
15-16,  32,  55,  59;  areas,  lack  of 
correspondence  between  historic 
cultures  and  archaeology,  374; 
ceremonies,  193,  195 ; complex, 

taken  over  as  a whole  by  English 
colonists,  381  ; complex,  processes 
necessary  to  production,  381  ; cul- 
ture, aboriginal  characteristics  of, 
19-24;  culture,  close  agreement 
with  distribution  of  pottery,  68 ; 
culture,  concepts  associated  with, 
184;  culture,  Old  World,  adapted 
to  cereal  complex,  381 ; culture, 
uniformity  of,  21,  23;  distribu- 
tion of,  20,  68,  371 ; foods  made 
from,  14;  history  paralleled  by 
history  of  higher  cultures.  19; 
local  adaptation  of,  24  ; most  im- 
portant aboriginal  agricultural 
product,  19;  origin  of,  23-24; 
Pueblo  method  of  raising,  19; 
unity  of  New  World  complex,  47 
Maguey,  southern  extension  of  use, 
43 

Males,  classification  of,  170-171 
Mammoth,  Cave,  295 ; contem- 
poraneity with  man  not  estab- 
lished for  North  America,  356 
Manabi,  archaeology  of,  283 
Mandan-Hidatsa,  pottery.  69-70 
Manioc,  area,  3,  55,  59,  68;  Amazon 
area,  371 ; chief  food,  Amazon 
Basin,  18 ; distribution  of,  20 ; 
preparation  for  use,  24 
Manitou,  236 ; compared  with  huaca, 
192 

Man,  dispersion  from  the  Old 
World.  341-350 

Mankind,  classes  recognized,  342 ; 
distribution  over  the  earth,  340- 
346 ; general  lines  of  dispersion 
for,  348 ; general  relation  of  In- 


dian to,  340-350;  systems  of 
classification  of,  341-344 
Maple  sugar,  manufacture  of,  13-14 
Marriage,  ceremonies,  187 ; forms 
of,  186 ; mother-in-law  taboo  cor- 
relate of  certain  forms  of,  170; 
regulations,  185-187 ; restrictions 
of,  163,  166,  172 
Masked  ritualistic  ceremony,  193 
Masks,  Aztec  and  Inca,  196;  North 
Pacific  Coast,  196 

Masonry,  at  Mitla,  278 ; New  World, 
103 ; Pueblo  area,  240 
Mate,  18 

Material  culture,  Antilles,  257 ; 
Araucanians,  249-251;  Arawak, 
25 2,  253 ; California  area,  225- 
227  ; Chibcha  area,  245-247  ; Dene, 
232-233 ; Eastern  Woodland  area, 
234,  235-237 ; Eskimo  area,  229- 
230;  Fuegians,  251;  guanaco  area, 
249  ; Lacandones,  243-244  ; Mack- 
enzie area,  231 ; North  Pacific 
Coast  area,  226-229 ; Plains  area, 
220-222 ; Plateau  area,  222-223  ; 
Southeastern  area,  238 ; south- 
western Dene,  232-233  ; Tupi,  255- 
256;  typical  Eastern  Woodland 
tribes,  235-237 ; typical  Eskimo, 
230-231  ; Witto  and  Boro,  252, 

254 

Matting,  classification  of,  53 
Mats,  North  Pacific  Coast  area,  227 ; 

for  tipi  covering,  111 
Maya,  16,  23,  28,  91,  102,  106,  107, 
108,  118,  134,  135,  136,  140,  i4r> 

142,  143,  146,  165,  176,  i83,  191, 

192,  194,  199,  202,  203,  210,  2 11, 

242,  243,  244,  246,  259,  278,  290, 

291,  292,  362,  390,  397;  culture, 
New  World  origin  of,  395 
Medicineman,  defined,  199 
Melanesia,  154;  age-societies  of, 
394 ; betel  nut  culture,  25 
Metal,  high  development  of  work  in, 
Colombia,  282;  work  in,  129-132, 
392 

Metate,  242,  279 
Mide  ritual,  195-196 
Midewin.  Central  Algonkin,  209.  220 
Midewiwin,  235,  236 


INDEX 


Migrations,  367-370,  372-373;  Ama- 
zon tribes,  252,  257 ; myths  re- 
counting, 208 ; tendency  to  move 
within  a culture  area,  372 ; sea- 
sonal in  accordance  with  food 
needs,  10-11 

Military  rule,  in  Mexican  govern- 
ment, 157 

Milk,  Indian  prejudice  against,  36 
Minerals,  mined  in  the  New  World, 
128-129 

Mines,  128-129 

Mississippi-Ohio  area,  archaeological 
characterization  of,  268-270 
Mitla,  Hall  of  the  Six  Columns, 
107 ; mosaic  designs  at,  93 ; ruins 
of,  278 

Moccasins,  bison  area,  64;  Pueblo 
area,  240 

Modeling  in  clay,  143 ; distribution 
of,  145 ; Peruvian  pottery,  94 ; 
pottery  vessels,  75 
Moieties,  division  into,  215;  func- 
tions among  Sauk  and  Fox,  168; 
summer  and  winter,  167 
Mongolian,  affinities  of  New  World 
man  with,  340 ; peoples,  most 
striking  facial  characters,  325  4 
physical  characters,  found  in  An- 
dean region,  329 

Mongoloid,  affinity,  of  New  World 
peoples,  396-397 ; character  of 
nose  in  the  New  World,  325 ; peo- 
ples, hair  of,  324-325 
Mongoloid-Red  peoples,  common  an- 
cestor group  of,  396-397 ; distri- 
bution of,  397-398 

Morphological,  analysis  of  man, 
343-344 ; characters,  New  World 
languages,  315-316 
Morphology,  comparative  studies  in 
language,  315-31 9 

Mortars,  stone,  124-125,  275; 

wood,  125 

Mosaics,  feather,  Peru,  60 
Mother-in-law  taboo,  distribution  of, 
170 

Mound,  builders,  Ohio,  128 ; culture, 
varieties  of,  268-270 ; structures, 
mouth  of  Amazon,  109 
Mounds,  building  on  to  secure  ele- 


465 

vation,  102,  115;  burial.  South 
Atlantic  area,  265 ; in  Colombia, 
281-282;  Mississippi-Ohio  area, 
268,  269 ; Patagonia,  285 ; pyra- 
midal, distribution  of,  105-106; 
shell,  California,  275-276 ; Vene- 
zuela, 282 

Mourning,  Charrua,  251 
Murder,  punishment  for,  177,  179 
Muskhogean  stock,  317,  320,  368; 
grouped  with  Natchesan,  309 ; lin- 
guistic and  tribal  grouping,  407 
Music,  152-155;  evidence  of  geo- 
graphical areas,  153 
Mythologies,  distribution  of,  207- 
209 

Mythological  areas,  208-209 
Mythology,  152,  205,  206-215 ; Ama- 
zon area,  254 ; California  area, 
226;  Northern  California  area, 
227 ; Eastern  Woodland  area, 
236 ; probable  means  of  transmit- 
ting culture  traits,  393 ; Pueblo 
area,  241 ; symbolism  in,  191  ; 
trickster  type.  Plateau  area,  224 

Na-dene,  proposed  term  for  grouped 
North  Pacific  Coast  languages, 
316 

Nahua,  16,  102,  106,  112,  136,  141, 

156,  163,  176,  183,  184,  185,  188, 

192,  199,  202,  203,  208,  210,  21 1, 

259,  278,  288 ; area,  characteriza- 

tion of  culture,  242-245 
Nahuatl  stock,  combined  with  Shos- 
honean  stock,  309,  403,  410,  41 1 
Names,  clans,  172-173;  designs,  97, 
98,  99;  not  symbolic,  100-101  ; 
tribal,  historical  origin  for,  159 
Napiwa,  Blackfoot  god,  21 1 
Narcotics,  distribution  of,  25-27 
Narrative,  mythical,  for  origin  of 
clan  group,  172;  prose,  151,  152 
Nasal,  index,  336-337 ; skeleton, 
S36-337 

Nasca,  95,  283,  284,  292 
Navajo,  38,  59,  81,  99,  in,  113, 
148,  149,  158,  170,  180,  200,  201, 
242,  350 ; blankets,  77 ; weaving, 
59 

Navigation,  38-41 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


466 


Nebraska  Loess  Man,  354 
Neolithic,  culture,  288,  294,  360; 
deposits,  122;  implements,  123; 
period,  in  Europe,  347 
Nephrite,  manner  of  working,  12 1 ; 
used  in  North  Pacific  Coast,  228; 
used  in  Thompson  River  region, 
276 

Nets,  antiquity  of  use,  47-48 ; birds 
taken  in,  18 ; for  fishing,  48  ; re- 
cent introduction  among  EskimOj 
48 

Netting,  47-48 ; southwestern  Dene, 

233 

New-fire  ceremony,  Inca,  248 ; Mex- 
ican, 194;  Pawnee,  213;  Pueblo, 
195 ; Southeastern  area,  239 
Nomenclature,  system  of,  New 
World  languages,  305 
North  Atlantic  area,  archaeological 
characterization  of,  261,  262-264 
Northern  Mexico,  archaeological 
characterization  of,  277-278 
North  Pacific  Coast  area,  40,  88, 
112,  121,  124,  133,  185,  203,  208, 
212,  223,  314,  371;  archaeological 
characterization  of,  277 ; charac- 
terization of  culture,  227-229 
Nose,  great  variety  in  form,  325- 
326 ; skeletal  structure  of,  336-337 
Numbers,  recorded  by  quipu,  135; 

sacred  in  the  New  World,  214 
Nuts  and  seeds,  wild,  area  of,  de- 
fined, 3 

Oath,  in  the  New  World,  182 
Objective  characters  of  man,  most 
definitive,  342 

Offerings  at  shrines,  240-241 
Ollantaitambo,  118 
Ollantay,  an  Inca  play,  144 
Orbital  index,  distribution  table,  337 
Orbits,  symmetrical  distribution,  336 
Ordeals,  in  the  New  World,  183 
Organization,  political,  Inca  and 
Mexican,  91,  157;  simple  tribal, 
nomadic  tribes,  158;  tribal,  bands, 
fundamental  units  in,  1 60-161 
Origin,  age-grading  systems  in 
America,  393-394;  art,  theories 
of,  97  5 Asiatic,  New  World  man, 


389-390 ; Chilkat  blanket,  90 ; cul- 
ture centers,  due  to  ethnic  fac- 
tors, 372;  culture,  theories  of, 
375-388;  culture  traits,  299-300; 
defensive  armor,  137 ; double- 
curve art,  87-88 ; independent, 
age-societies  in  the  Plains,  171 ; 
independent,  designs,  Plains  and 
California,  85 ; language  a reliable 
index  to,  396;  New  World  peo- 
ples, xviii,  324 ; New  World  totemic 
complex,  172-173;  Plains  art,  84- 
85 ; rituals,  205 ; single,  funda- 
mental Old  World  traits,  391 ; 
single,  culture  traits  having  con- 
tinuous distribution,  376 ; Siouan 
stock,  322 ; southern,  of  Iroquoian 
culture,  235 ; unity  of,  culture  and 
somatic  types,  370 ; verse  in  song, 
152 

Origins,  frequently  detailed  in  my- 
thology, 207;  New  World,  389- 
400 

Ornamentation,  Maya  and  Nahua 
buildings,  107,  108;  textiles  and 
pottery,  76 

Ornaments,  copper  and  gold,  Maya 
and  Aztec,  243 ; stone,  128 

Pachacamac,  291 

Pacific  Islands,  ceremonies,  193  ; 
New  World  culture  correspond- 
ences with,  390 

Packing,  methods  of,  35-36 

Paddles,  40 

Painting,  143 ; body,  95 ; building 
interiors,  108;  pottery,  71-72,  75; 
skins,  86 

Palenque,  103,  14 1 

Paleolithic,  culture,  122,  287,  294, 
295 ; races,  similarity  of  Eskimo 
to,  349 

Palisades,  distribution  of,  117-118 

Panama,  archaeological  characteriza- 
tion of,  279 ; area,  designs,  93 

Pan-pipe,  154 

Paper,  in  Mexico  and  Central  Amer- 
ica, 136 

Patagonia,  8,  50,  62,  65,  68,  334, 
341,  350;  archaeological  charac- 
terization of,  285-286 


INDEX 


Pattern,  phenomena,  378 ; of  rituals, 
196;  theory,  in  the  study  of  single 
trait-complexes,  377-379 
Pawnee,  69,  150,  151,  158.  163,  167, 
170,  195,  198,  200,  201,  203,  213, 
222,  350,  378,  381 
Pemmican,  7,  9,  234 
Peopling  of  the  New  World,  347, 
349,  367-368 

“Pepper-pot,”  characteristic  dish  of 
the  Amazon  area,  19,  252 
Persimmon,  bread  made  of,  14 
Personal  property,  184-185 
Peru,  archaeological  characterization 
of,  283 

Pestle,  stone,  distribution  of,  124 
Peyote  cult,  376 

Phonetic,  analysis  of  language,  by 
mechanical  methods,  31 1;  sys- 
tems, United  States  and  Canada, 
314;  uniformity  found  in  Cali- 
fornia languages,  313 
Phonetics,  characteristic  of  Ameri- 
can languages,  311,  313;  compara- 
tive, 311-314;  geographical  types 
of,  313-314 

Phratry,  defined,  166-167 
Pictographs,  in  the  Antilles,  28: ; 

Plains  area,  272 ; on  rock,  143 
Picture  writing,  135 
Pigmentation,  New  World  man,  325, 
336,  338 

Piki,  maize  bread,  15,  240 
Pile-dwellings,  Northern  South 
America,  109,  no;  in  Florida 
swamps,  no 

Pile-villages,  South  Atlantic  area, 
266 

Piman  stock,  consolidated  with 
Shoshonean-Nahuatlan  stock,  309, 
403 ; linguistic  and  tribal  group- 
ing, 408 

Pipe  ritual,  ceremonial,  196 
Pipes,  72 ; clay,  South  Atlantic  area, 
265 ; distribution  and  form  of,  26- 
27 ; elbow,  distribution  of,  26-27 ; 
Eskimo  area,  230 ; pottery,  Iro- 
quois area,  267 ; South  Atlantic 
area,  266 ; stone,  form  and  dis- 
tribution, 125 
Pit-dwellings,  114-115 


467 

Pit-houses,  in  Great  Lakes  area,  271 
Pits,  house,  n 3-1 15 
Plains  area,  124,  136,  138,  241,  249, 
394 ; archaeological  characteriza- 
tion of,  271-272;  area,  character- 
ization of  culture,  217-222;  proba- 
bly a distinct  type  of  prehistoric 
culture,  272 ; traits,  in  Plateau 
area,  223-225 
Plant-growing  trick,  201 
Plants,  Central  American,  taken 
over  and  cultivated  by  Europeans, 
16-17;  cultivated  before  1492,  15; 
peculiar  to  the  New  World,  392; 
used  in  eastern  maize  area,  13-14 
Plateau  area,  233,  241-242,  371 ; 
area,  characterization  of  cultures, 
222-225 

Platinum,  in  the  New  World,  131 
Platycnemia,  flattening  of,  327 
Platymeria,  flattening  of,  327 ; pres- 
ence of  third  trochanter  corre- 
lated with,  327 

Plumed  serpent  concept,  wide  dis- 
tribution of,  212 
Plural  marriage,  186 
Poetical  merit,  in  aboriginal  rituals, 
210 

Poetry,  aboriginal,  147 
Poison,  fish  taken  with,  eastern 
maize  area,  14;  upper  Amazon,  19 
Police  system,  Pueblo,  180;  Siouan, 
178;  tribes  of  the  Gulf  states, 
179-180 

Political,  organization,  Aztec,  244- 
245  ; close  uniformity  of  speech  a 
correlate  of,  304 ; conducive  to 
standardization  of  culture,  259; 
Iroquois  tribes,  237 ; in  regions  of 
higher  culture,  19 1 ; system, 
Araucans,  176;  solidarity,  coinci- 
dent with  clan-gens  organization, 
165 ; unity,  coincident  with  cul- 
tural individuality,  375 
Polynesian-European  group,  charac- 
teristics and  area  of  distribution, 
342 

Polynesians,  343 ; affinities  of  New 
World  man  with,  340-431 ; recent 
arrivals  in  the  Pacific,  390 
Poncho,  62 ; skin,  bison  area,  64 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


468 


Populations,  culture  centers,  stabil- 
ity of,  373 ; movements  of,  367- 
368 ; native,  density  of,  xviii-ix ; 
regions  of  lower  culture,  321 ; 
shifts  in,  364 ; total  of  Indians, 
United  States  and  Canada,  403 
Popul  Vuh  manuscript,  290 
Portrait  jars,  75 

Potlatch  ceremony,  North  Pacific 
Coast,  185,  228 ; Plateau  area,  224 
Pottery,  Algonkin,  78 ; Central 
American,  73 ; Chile,  284 ; Chi- 
riqui,  75 ; close  agreement  with 
diffusion  of  maize,  68 ; Colombia, 
282;  complex,  total  of  processes 
of  making,  384-385 ; decorations 
on,  76,  77,  80,  99 ; diffusion  of, 
66-68 ; distribution  of,  66-68,  93 ; 
Eastern  Woodland  area,  235,  237 ; 
Ecuador,  283 ; Eskimo,  230 ; 
forms  of,  72-74 ; Inca,  248 ; in- 
tense culture  area,  93 ; intensive 
pursuit  of  the  art  in  the  South,  68  ; 
Iroquoian,  267 ; Iroquoian,  North 
Atlantic  area,  264 ; lower  Missis- 
sippi, 69,  74 ; means  of  establish- 
ing chronologies,  291,  292,  293, 
301;  Mexican,  72;  Mississippi- 
Ohio  area,  268 ; mortuary,  266 ; 
North  Atlantic  and  Upper  Missis- 
sippi types,  70 ; not  dependent  on 
environmental  surroundings,  371 ; 
painted,  in  Brazil,  95  ; Patagonia, 
286 ; Peruvian,  73,  95  ; processes 
of  manufacture,  68-74 ; Pueblo 
area,  240,  242,  273 ; South  At- 
lantic type,  70,  265,  266 ; South- 
eastern area,  91,  238;  South- 

western United  States,  71,  371 ; 
state  of  Oaxaca,  278 ; tripod  from 
Panama,  279 

Power,  supernatural,  Dakota  and 
Menomini  concept  for  origin  of, 
378 ; shamanistic,  source  of,  199, 
201 

Prayer,  Navajo,  148-149 
Presents,  conventional  exchange  of 
at  marriage,  187 

Priest,  Amazon  area,  201 ; com- 
pared to  shaman,  199-200,  203- 
204,  214;  priesthood,  202-203 ; 


priesthood,  organized,  Aztec  area, 
244 ; priestly  organizations,  among 
the  Hopi,  1 94- 1 95 

Primates,  lines  of  dispersion  for, 
345 ; phylogenetic  relations  of 
living  and  extinct  groups,  345 
Privileges,  social,  169-170 
Property,  conceptions  of,  183-185 
Puberty  ceremonies,  193 ; California 
area,  226 ; Plateau  area,  224 
Pueblo  area,  32,  38,  50,  58,  60,  69, 
80,  99,  106,  109,  hi,  115,  117, 
124,  129,  133,  136,  137,  138,  153, 

158,  165,  1 66,  180,  187,  189,  194, 

198,  201,  210,  213,  245,  284,  292, 

293 ; area,  archaeological  classifi- 
cation of,  272-274 ; culture,  ex- 
tension into  Mexico,  242 ; culture, 
resemblance  of  Casas  Grandes  to, 
274 ; influence  on  culture  of  no- 
madic tribes  of  the  Southwest, 
241,  242 

Pueblo,  Calchaqui  structures  re- 
semble, 109;  form  of  modern, 
106 

Pulverizing,  dried  flesh  and  vegeta- 
bles, salmon  area,  10 
Pumpdrill,  distribution  of  132,  133- 
134 

Purification,  for  sacred  offices,  meth- 
ods of,  213 

Quarries,  128-129 ; stone  at  Mitla, 
278 ; quartzite,  Plains  area,  272 
Quillwork,  82-84 
Quinoa,  19 
Quipu,  135 
Quirigua,  142 

Quito,  archaeology  of,  282-283 

Rabbit,  as  culture  hero,  212 
Rabbitskin  blankets,  Dene,  233 ; dis- 
tribution of,  57 ; Northern  Shos- 
honean  tribes,  224;  Plateau  area, 
223 

Rabbitstick,  Pueblo  area,  240 
Racial  dispersion,  344-35° 

Rain  ceremony,  Sia,  241 
Rattle,  calabash,  distribution,  153' 
154 


INDEX 


469 


Rawhide,  painting,  bison  area,  84; 
work  in,  220,  371 

Raven,  culture  hero,  North  Pacific 
Coast,  212;  legends.  North  Pacific 
Coast,  228 

Realism,  in  designs,  78-79 ; textile 
art,  91-92 

Realistic,  art,  New  World,  100;  art, 
produced  by  men,  96 ; art,  rarity 
of,  76 ; carving,  88-89 ; carving,  in 
architectural  decoration,  93 ; de- 
signs, bison  area,  82-84 ; designs, 
caribou  and  eastern  maize  area, 
85 ; designs,  North  Pacific  Coast, 
89  ; designs,  Peruvian  textiles,  93  ; 
designs,  pottery,  80-81 ; origin  of 
art,  theory,  100-101 
Reciprocal  terms  of  relationship, 
169 

“Red-paint,”  burials,  264 ; culture, 
268 

Regulation,  social,  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 175-190 

Reindeer,  culture,  associated  with 
tipi,  1 12;  used  in  transportation, 
32 

Relationship,  systems,  168-169,  385- 
386;  terms,  160,  161-162 
Religion,  Chibcha,  Maya,  and  Na- 
hua,  192;  Maya,  Nahua,  and  Inca, 
136;  New  World,  source  of,  204; 
and  ritualism,  205 

Religious,  conceptions,  and  mythol- 
ogy, 211-215;  culture,  Pueblo  In- 
dians, 1 94- 1 95;  culture,  Siberia, 
202 ; system,  Aztec,  244-245 ; sys- 
tem, in  Peru,  191-192 
Revenge,  personal  freedom  to,  177- 
178,  179 

Rhea,  economic  importance  of,  8 
Rhythm,  in  aboriginal  music,  153 
Rice,  wild,  as  food,  13 
Rio  Grande  Pueblos,  239 
Ritualism,  191-197;  Aztec,  244; 
Eastern  Woodland  area,  236 ; high 
development  of,  coincident  with 
distinction  between  priest  and 
shaman,  200 ; importance  of  music 
in  study  of,  *55;  maximum  de- 
velopment among  Maya,  202-203 ; 
personal  relation  in,  204-205 ; 


Pueblo  area,  240-241 ; Southeast- 
ern area,  238-239;  Southwestern 
area,  240-241,  242 

Ritualistic,  observances,  19 1-205 ; 
performance,  California,  196 ; 
plays,  North  Pacific  Coast,  196 ; 
procedures,  Pueblo,  194-195;  sys- 
tem, North  Pacific  Coast  area, 
228 

Rituals,  agricultural,  194;  distinct 
forms  of,  378 ; dramatic  and 
poetical  merit  of,  210;  grass 
dance,  381;  Pacific  Coast,  196; 
Plains  area,  378 ; transfer  of,  378 
Road-building,  Mexico  and  Peru, 
108 

Rock-shelter,  North  Atlantic  area, 
264 

Rolling  rock,  distribution  of  story, 
208 

Roofs,  Nahua  and  Peruvian  build- 
ings, 106 

Rooms,  size,  influenced  by  absence 
of  arch,  102;  size,  Nahua  build- 
ings, 106 

Roots,  as  food,  8,  232 
Rope-tying  trick,  distribution  of,  201 
Rowlock,  used  by  Eskimo,  40 
Rulers,  Aztec,  290 ; Inca,  289 
Ruins,  ancient  Maya  cities,  278 ; 
historical  relation  of,  104;  most 
impressive  in  the  New  World, 
242 ; Pueblo  area,  groups  of,  273- 
274 

Sacrifices,  animals  and  inanimate 
objects,  193 ; to  gods  of  the  Peru- 
vians, 193;  great  number  of  Az- 
tec, 244,  245 ; human,  203 ; hu- 
man, Maya  and  Nahua,  192-193  ; 
human,  Pawnee  and  Pueblo,  195  ; 
Inca  area,  248 
Sacsahuaman,  118 

Sagebrush  bark  fiber,  distribution 
and  use,  42;  weaving,  55,  371 
Sandal,  a correlative  of  textile 
clothing,  64 
Sails,  use  of,  40 

Salmon,  area,  3,  9-11,  31,  35,  47,  55, 
62,  196 ; caught  in  acorn  area, 
12 ; methods  of  catching,  10 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


470 


Salt,  manufactured  and  traded,  Co- 
lombia, 17 

Santa  Rosa  Xlabpak,  restoration 
and  groundplan,  105 
Scales,  in  aboriginal  music,  152- 154 
Schools,  for  children,  188-189 
Sculpture,  center  of  New  World, 
140;  distribution  of,  145;  Maya, 
122,  140-143,  394 
Seats,  stone,  125 
Seeds,  wild,  area  of,  11-12 
Shaman,  distinguished  from  medi- 
cineman, 199-204;  distinguished 
from  priest,  214;  relation  to  ju- 
dicial system,  181-182 
Shamanism,  199-204;  Amazon  area, 
254;  California  area,  226;  Dene 
area,  233 ; Eastern  Woodland 
area,  236 ; guanaco  area,  250 ; 
Siberia,  202 ; Southeastern  area, 

239 

Shell-heaps,  North  Atlantic  area, 
261,  263,  264;  no  true  stratifica- 
tion found  in,  293 ; South  At- 
lantic area,  264,  265 ; stratifica- 
tion claimed  for,  293 
Shell  mounds,  Atlantic  Highlands, 
285 ; California,  275 ; Chile,  283- 
284 ; Patagonia,  285 
Shell,  objects.  South  Atlantic  area, 
265-266 ; work  in,  California,  275 
Shelter,  Shoshonean  tribes,  224 ; 

types'  and  distribution,  371 
Shields,  circular,  distribution  and 
origin,  138;  rectangular,  in  Peru, 
138 

Shoshonean,  culture,  224 ; stock,  309, 
318,  320,  368,  369;  stock,  com- 
bined with  Nahuatl,  309,  403 ; 
stock,  linguistic  and  tribal  group- 
ing, 409-410 

Shoshonean-Nahuatl,  stock,  318,  320, 
321,  322,  368 

Shuttle,  netting,  distribution  of,  48 
Silver,  aboriginal  working  of,  130, 

131 

Sinew,  used  in  making  skin  clothing, 
43-44 

Sinkers,  notched  pebbles  used  as,  48 

Sins,  confession  of,  214 

Skin,  clothing,  tailored,  60-64  > 


dressing,  Plateau,  223,  dressing, 
Southeastern  area,  238 ; designs 
painted  on,  84;  painting  on,  86 
Skin  color,  basic  in  the  New  World, 
325 ; range  in  the  New  World, 
338 

Skin  Shifter,  distribution  of  story, 
208 

Sledges,  Eskimo,  30,  32 
Slips,  for  coloring  pottery,  71 
Smelting,  of  metals,  130 
Smoking,  diffusion  of,  27 ; opium 
type  of,  393 

Snake,  dance,  Hopi,  241;  society, 
Hopi,  202 

Snares,  for  game,  Dene,  233 
Snaring,  caribou,  231;  among  Es- 
kimo and  Indians,  6 
Snaring  the  Sun,  distribution  of, 
story,  208 

Snowhouse,  distribution  of,  114 
Snuff  taking,  distribution  of,  25,  27 
Soapstone,  vessels  of,  74 
Social,  control,  175;  grouping,  156- 
173 

Social  organization,  160-162;  Ama- 
zon area,  254 ; California  area, 
226 ; Chibcha  area,  246 ; Den6 
area,  233 ; Eastern  Woodland 
area,  236;  guanaco  area,  250-251 ; 
Inca  area,  248 ; Northern  Cali- 
fornia, 227  ; Plains,  220  ; Pueblo 
area,  240 ; similarity  of  Mexico 
and  Peru,  176;  Southeastern  area, 

239 

Social,  privileges,  169-170;  regula- 
tion, 175-190 

Societies,  170-171 ; Plains  Indian, 
220,  298,  299,  379,  382 
Society,  evolution  of,  173 
Somatic,  areas,  352-354,  355  ; char- 
acters, grouping  by,  350-354; 
characters,  group  resemblances  in, 
350;  characters,  summary  of,  338- 
340 ; characters,  unity  of  New 
World  peoples,  357,  396 ; classi- 
fication, 324-358 ; correlations, 
366 ; grouping,  roughly  coincident 
with  culture  grouping,  350-351; 
homogeneity,  in  the  New  World, 
338;  type,  California,  367;  type, 


INDEX 


tendency  to  conform  to  environ- 
ment, 373 ; units,  primary  in- 
breeding  local  social  groups,  350; 
unity,  in  each  culture  area,  366 
Somatologies,  differentiation  of, 
after  cultural  pattern,  367 
Somatology,  general  relations  with 
linguistics  and  culture,  366-367 
Song,  Dakota  Fox  society,  151-152; 
tablets,  Algonkin,  146;  war, 
Pawnee,  1 50-1 51 

South  Atlantic  area,  archaeological 
characterization  of,  265-266 
Southeastern  area,  91,  235,  371 ; 
culture  characterization  of,  237- 
239 ; northern  traces  of  culture, 
368-369 

Southwestern  area,  371 ; culture 
characterization  of,  239-242 
Speech,  American,  peculiarities  of, 
31 1 ; chiefly  agglutinative  in  the 
New  World,  315;  identity  of,  co- 
incident with  political  and  cultural 
unity,  365 ; reasons  for  individ- 
uality in  the  New  World,  304 ; 
survives  longer  than  other  culture 
traits,  310 

Spindle,  46,  57 ; European,  46 
Spindle  whorl,  distribution  of,  44- 
45,  132 ; pottery,  282 
Spinning,  44-47 ; cotton,  47 ; meth- 
ods and  distribution,  45-47 ; with 
a spindle,  57;  without  a spindle, 
55 

Splint  basketry,  53 
Stamps,  of  pottery,  for  printing 
cloth,  282 

State  of  Oaxaca,  archaeological  char- 
acterization of,  278 
Stature,  geographic  grouping  of, 
352-353  ; of  tribal  groups,  accord- 
ing to  culture  areas,  352 
Steatite,  work  in,  126 
Stelae,  107;  dated,  278 
Stock,  language,  determination  of,  in 
the  New  World,  305 ; language, 
distribution  in  more  than  one  cul- 
ture area,  364,  365 ; linguistic  de- 
fined, 305 

Stocks,  linguistic,  consolidation  of, 
403;  distribution  of,  319-322; 


471 

most  widely  distributed,  320-321; 
similarities  in  California,  364 ; 
unity  of,  within  culture  areas, 
364-365  ; United  States  and  Can- 
ada, number  of,  306-307 
Stone  age  culture,  Maya,  243 ; in  the 
New  World,  118,  122 
Stone,  boiling,  52,  223,  227,  233 ; 
carving,  140,  276;  implements 

Mississippi-Ohio  area,  268-269 , 
implements,  Great  Lakes  area 
271 ; implements,  types  of,  Iro- 
quoian  area,  266-267,  268 ; imple- 
ments, types  of,  North  Atlantic 
area,  261,  263;  implements,  South 
Atlantic  area,  265 ; implements, 
Plains  area,  271,  272;  objects, 
problematical,  125-126 ; objects, 
total  distribution  of,  127;  quar- 
rying, 128-129;  vessels,  Plains 
area,  272;  work  in,  119-128; 
work  in,  Aztec  area,  244 ; work  in, 
Southeastern  area,  238 ; work, 
periods  of,  in  Europe,  119 
Stone-Boy,  story  of,  209 
Stratification,  chronologies  deter- 
mined by,  291-294;  of  cultures, 
Iroquois  area,  362 ; of  pottery  re- 
mains, 291-293;  in  rock-shelters, 
North  Atlantic  area,  264 
Stringed  instruments,  absence  in 
the  New  World  before  discovery, 
154 

Sun,  ceremony,  in  Peru,  193  ; dance, 
196,  213,  220;  offerings  to,  203; 
in  religious  system  of  Peru,  191 
Supernatural  guardians,  197-199 
Sweat  house,  distribution  of  use,  213 
Sword-swallowing  trick,  distribu- 
tion, 201 

Symbolism,  97-101 ; in  mythology 
and  ritualism,  191 ; Pueblo  pot- 
tery designs,  82 ; strong  develop- 
ment in  the  Southwest  area,  100 
Symbols,  true,  in  New  World  art, 
99,  100 

Synthetic  work,  importance  in  de- 
velopment of  anthropology,  359- 
360 

System  of  relationship,  168-169; 
classificatory,  168 


472 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Tablets,  bark,  containing  mide  rit- 
ual, 195-196 

Taboo,  against  fish,  bison  area,  6 ; 
against  fish,  Pueblo  tribes,  16; 
mother-in-law,  distribution,  169- 
170 

Taboos,  169-170;  Eskimo  area,  230; 

against  women  in  ceremonies,  193 
Tales,  distribution  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 208-209 ; Old  World,  found  in 
America,  209 ; types  of,  206-207 
Tatting,  found  in  cotton-using  area, 
48 

Technique,  limitation  in  bead  and 
quill  work,  82,  84 ; weaving,  limi- 
tation to  design,  77,  78 
Techniques,  in  basketry,  49-50,  51, 
80 ; coil  and  twine,  concentric 
distribution  of,  50,  52 
Teeth,  as  definitive  character,  327- 
329,  338 

Tempering  materials,  for  pottery,  71 
Temple  of  the  Cross,  cross-section 
of,  103 

Temples,  to  the  sun,  lower  Missis- 
sippi, 195,  238 

Terraces,  use  of,  in  Peru,  105 
Test  theme,  in  mythology,  207-208 
Textile,  art,  importance  of,  at  time 
of  Spanish  conquest,  57 ; arts,  42- 
65  ; designs,  76-80  ; development, 
eastern  maize  area,  59 ; develop- 
ment, Gulf  States,  90 
Textiles,  cliff-house,  58,  82 ; Inca, 
93;  Maya,  91-93;  Mexican,  91- 
93 ; North  Pacific  Coast,  90 ; Peru- 
vian, 90,  95;  poor  development  in 
caribou  and  eastern  maize  area, 
90 ; specialization  in  the  South- 
west, 371 

Thatched  structures,  distribution  and 
varieties,  no 

Thread-making,  a universal  trait,  44, 
S3 

Thunderbird,  concept,  wide  distribu- 
tion of,  212 

Tiahuanaco,  108,  283,  292 
Tibia,  flattening  of,  327 
Time,  methods  of  reckoning,  136; 
perspective,  dated  stelae,  most  im- 
portant aids  to,  278 ; relations  for 


culture,  methods  of  determining, 
296-300 ; relations  for  culture,  es- 
tablished by  studies  of  language 
and  culture,  319;  relations  and 
cultural  associates,  357 ; relations, 
pottery  and  maize,  68 
Tin,  contained  in  Peruvian  bronze 
implements,  1 30-131 
Tipi,  construction  and  types,  111- 
112;  used  by  intermediate  Plains 
tribes,  385  ; in  the  Mackenzie  area, 
234 ; used  by  nomadic  tribes  of  the 
southwest,  241 

Tipiti,  basketry  press  for  cassava, 
24 

Titicaca,  95 ; a sacrificial  shrine, 
193 

Title  to  lands,  held  by  family 
group,  183 

Tobacco,  aboriginal  forms  of  tak- 
ing, 25-27 ; burning,  as  a means 
of  purification,  213;  chewing,  dis- 
tribution of,  25,  26 ; cultivation 
of,  13  ; distribution  of,  26 
Toboggan,  distribution  of,  31 
Tombs,  cross-shaped  at  Mitla,  278 
Tools,  copper,  distribution  of,  129- 
130;  copper,  Peruvian,  130-131 
Topography,  guanaco  area,  249 ; 
Inca  area,  247 ; Plateau  area,  222 ; 
type  of,  in  which  New  World 
cultures  expanded,  368-369 
Tortillas,  16 

Totemic  features,  172- 174 
Totemism,  198-199,  378-379 
Totem-pole  house,  structure  and  dis- 
tribution, 1 12 

Totem  poles,  112;  carved,  89;  North 
Pacific  Coast  area,  228 
Totems,  172 

Totonac,  242,  289 ; sites,  glazed  pot- 
tery from,  71 

Trade,  between  Alaska  and  Siberia, 
41 ; Maya  with  Cuba,  243 
Tragedies,  Inca,  144 
Trait  association,  within  tribal  cul- 
ture, 384-386 

Trait-complexes,  no  direct  conven- 
tional relations  between  those  con- 
stituting a culture.  386 ; social, 
association  between,  385-386 


INDEX 


Traits,  borrowed,  among  Dene,  233- 
234 ; identity  of,  among  groups  of 
aborigines,  375  ; independently  de- 
veloped in  the  New  World,  399 
Transport,  animal,  distribution  of, 
29 

Transportation,  California  area,  225- 
226 ; Chibcha  area,  246 ; Dene, 
231,  232;  by  dogs,  distribution  of, 
29  ; dog  and  travois,  220  ; Eastern 
Woodland  area,  236 ; Inca  area, 
248;  methods  of,  30-36,  38-41; 
methods  of,  in  Mexico  and  Pueblo 
area,  32 ; Northern  Shoshonean 
tribes,  244 ; North  Pacific  Coast 
area,  227 ; Plateau  area,  223 
Travois,  31,  379;  in  bison  area,  33; 
horse,  35 ; not  found  in  Siberia 
and  Alaska,  32 

Trial,  form  of,  among  O jibway  and 
Micmac,  179;  idea  of,  found  in 
regions  of  intense  culture,  181 ; 
Iroquois,  179 

Tribal  groups,  Chibcha  area,  245 ; 
Eastern  Woodland  area,  234-235 ; 
guanaco  area,  249 ; Inca  area, 
247 ; intermediate  in  culture,  Cali- 
fornia, 226;  Mackenzie  area,  231, 
232 ; Maya,  242 ; nomadic  peoples 
of  the  Southwest,  241,  242; 

Plains  area,  218,  220-221,  222; 
Plateau  area,  222,  223,  224 ; 

Southeastern  area,  237;  South- 
western area,  239,  241,  242 
Tribes,  historic,  218 
Tribute,  brought  to  Mexico  City,  35 
Tricks,  shamanistic,  201-202 
Trujillo,  283,  292 

Trumpets,  154-155;  Bronze  age,  147 
Tubular  pipe,  distribution,  125 
Tuckahoe,  bread  made  from,  14 
Tumpline,  36,  37 

Turkey,  domestication  of,  16,  28,  38, 
239-240 

Turtles,  great,  at  Quirigua,  142 
Twined  basketry,  50,  52 
Twins,  story  of,  209 

Uaupes,  193 

Ulotrichi,  found  in  Australian- 
African  group,  342 


473 

Underground  houses,  113-114;  Pla- 
teau area,  223,  224 
Unfaithful  wife,  distribution  of 
story,  209 

Urn  burial,  73,  109,  265,  284,  285 
Uxmal,  104,  288 

Vaginal  teeth,  distribution  of  story, 
209 

Variability,  of  head  form,  331 
Vegetable,  foods,  salmon  area,  9-10; 
Southeastern  area,  238 ; south- 
western Dene,  232 ; products,  sec- 
ondary dependence  on,  in  various 
areas,  9-1 1 

Venezuela,  highland  populations  ex- 
terminated by  the  Spaniards,  17 
Ventriloquism,  in  Amazon  area,  201 
Venus,  important  god  of  the  Aztec 
and  Maya,  194 

Verse,  aboriginal,  147 ; origin  of,  in 
song,  147,  152;  Eskimo,  149-150 
Vihuk,  Cheyenne  god,  21 1 
Village  sites.  North  Atlantic  area, 
264 

Villages,  fairly  permanent,  salmon 
area  tribes,  10 

Viracocha,  Inca  god,  21 1,  248; 

Peruvian  culture  hero,  190,  194 
Vision,  origin  of  supernatural  power, 
378 ; to  obtain  personal  guardian, 
197 

Vocabularies,  classification  of  lin- 
guistic stocks,  based  on,  305 
Vow,  diffusion  of  concept,  213-214 

Wabano  cult,  Central  Algonkin,  201 
Wakan,  compared  to  Peruvian 
huaca,  192;  defined,  214 
Walls,  forms  of,  106;  New  World 
buildings,  102 

Walum  Olum,  Delaware,  290 
Wampum,  belts  woven  of,  86 
War,  189;  honors,  graded,  189; 

song,  Pawnee,  1 50-1 51 
Warfare,  xviii 

Weapons,  137-139;  guanaco  area, 
249 ; North  Pacific  Coast  area, 
228 ; Plateau  area,  223 
Weaves,  basketry,  49 ; fineness  of,  in 
Peruvian  cloth,  57-58 


474 


THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 


Weaving,  cedarbark,  55 ; Chonoans, 
25 1 ; Dene  region,  87 ; distribution 
of,  56;  Eastern  Woodland  area, 
•236,  371 ; high  development  among 
the  Maya,  243;  Huichol,  91-92; 
Inca  area,  248 ; Maya,  92-93 ; 
modern  Mexican,  91-93;  Navajo, 
77,  81-82;  New  World,  392; 

North  Pacific  Coast  area,  227- 
228 ; Northern  Shoshonean  tribes, 
224;  O jibway,  54;  Pueblo  area, 
239;  sagebrush  bark,  55;  South- 
eastern area,  238,  376 ; technical 
limitations  of,  77,  78,  82,  84 ; tech- 
nique, influence  on  design,  77,  79 ; 
types  of  in  the  New  World,  53, 
54-57;  wild  goat  wool,  55,  57 
West  Indies,  18,  23,  36,  38,  40,  140 
Wheel,  absence  of,  in  New  World 
culture,  32,  68,  91,  134,  392;  de- 
velopment in  the  Old  World,  133 
Whipping,  ceremonial,  189,  193-194 
Whirling  log,  symbol,  Navajo,  99, 
100 

Whistling  jars,  73,  248 
Wickerwork  basketry,  52 
Wild  plants,  as  food  in  Pueblo  area, 
16 

Wild  rice  culture,  Eastern  Wood- 
land area,  231 

Windows,  rarity  of,  in  New  World 
houses,  102 

Witches,  trial  of  among  Iroquois, 
179,  181 

Wives,  exchange  of,  186,  230 
Woman  who  went  to  the  Sky,  dis- 
tribution of  story,  208 


Women,  agricultural  work  of,  14, 
18;  taboo  against,  in  ceremonies, 
193 

Wood,  architectural  use  of,  106; 
armor  of,  137;  carving,  112, 
228,  230;  work  in,  Plateau  area, 
223 

Wool,  distribution  of  use,  42 ; 
Navajo  use  of,  59 ; spinning  of, 
46,  47 

Word  distribution.  New  World  lan- 
guages, problem  in,  319 
World  quarters,  four,  214 
Writing,  invention  of,  134-135; 
Maya  system  of,  134,  244;  prac- 
tised in  Mexico,  134- 135 

Yahgan,  339;  stock,  249,  419 
Yakima  Valley,  intermediate  culture 
in  Columbia  Basin,  265 
Year  counts,  pictographic,  134- 135; 

Plains  Indians,  146,  290 
Yokes,  stone,  Mexico,  125 
Yucatan,  57,  140;  archaeological 

characterization  of,  278 
Yuman  peoples,  226 ; stock,  grouped 
under  Hokan,  309,  403 ; stock, 
315;  stock,  linguistic  and  tribal 
grouping,  412 

Zapotec,  242,  278;  culture,  362; 
stock,  linguistic  and  tribal  group- 
ing, 415 

Zero,  discovery  and  use  in  mathe- 
matics by  the  Maya,  135 
Zume,  Tupi  god,  21 1 
Zuni,  82,  170,  239;  stock,  412 


Fig.  82.  Sou, 


